Live coverage: Cygnus rendezvous and arrival journal and webcast

A 12,000-pound Mexican mobile communications satellite was hoisted atop its Atlas 5 rocket today as crews finished assembling the vehicle for United Launch Alliance’s 100th liftoff next week.

Giving every opportunity for the storm clouds to blow clear after a four-hour hold, the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket counts down Thursday afternoon at Cape Canaveral until the clocks had to be halted for the day.

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket stands on pad 0A at Wallops Island, Virginia, on a frigid morning hours before a planned liftoff with more than 8,000 pounds of cargo heading for the International Space Station.