Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

The next American polar-orbiting weather satellite that will feed long-range forecasts and track environmental trends has slipped into space-like testing ahead of launch.

NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite has been bolted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as ground teams prepare for the final liftoff of the workhorse launcher Sept. 15.

Just two weeks before it flies to space, the core stage of the next Atlas 5 rocket was erected aboard the mobile launcher platform this morning by United Launch Alliance technicians to kick off a streamlined vehicle assembly that will break a record.