Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

The U.S. military’s highest capacity communications satellite ever built was successfully launched into space tonight, departing Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT).

The newest Global Positioning System replenishment satellite went into operation Tuesday night, five weeks after ascending to space from Cape Canaveral atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT) today to haul a classified satellite into space for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Follow the mission in our live journal.