Photos: Gantry rolled back to reveal Atlas 5 rocket for launch

SES has selected United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to launch up to five new commercial C-band communications satellites from Cape Canaveral in 2022 aboard Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 rockets, officials announced Wednesday.

United Launch Alliance’s rocket transport ship has delivered a Delta 4-Heavy rocket to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for launch of a U.S. government spy satellite late this year.

Carrying a sophisticated billion-dollar missile detection satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday with 1.6 million pounds of thrust from a Russian RD-180 main engine and twin solid rocket boosters.