Photos: News media images of Atlas 5 launch

The pre-launch news conference for the Jason 3 ocean altimetry mission, scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (Membership required.)

A massive radio broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM is set for liftoff Friday on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, punctuating a busy week for SpaceX that included the debut of a new-generation cargo ship for the International Space Station and a spectacular atmospheric test flight of a prototype rocket over South Texas.

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 64 smallsats on Spaceflight’s SSO-A: SmallSat Express rideshare mission.