Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

Here’s a look by the numbers of the previous Atlas 5 flight history and the current backlog and manifest for the rocket.

A Dragon supply ship owned and operated by SpaceX departed the International Space Station early Monday and returned to Earth for a predawn splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles with scientific specimens and other equipment. Astronaut Jack Fischer released the Dragon cargo capsule from the station’s robotic arm at 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), and splashdown occurred around 8:12 a.m. EDT (1212 GMT).

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket went through a practice countdown and fueling exercise today to prepare for its Dec. 7 liftoff to deliver a U.S. military communications satellite into space.