April 12, 2026
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Breaking News
  • [ April 10, 2026 ] NASA confident Artemis 2 heat shield will protect crew during re-entry Artemis
  • [ April 5, 2026 ] Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday Artemis
  • [ April 3, 2026 ] ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission Atlas 5
  • [ April 2, 2026 ] Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission Artemis
  • [ April 1, 2026 ] Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972 Artemis

Photos: News media images of Atlas 5 launch

September 24, 2017 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket leaves Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the NROL-42 satellite-deployment mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Photo credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

See earlier NROL-42 coverage.

  • Atlas 5
  • AV-072
  • National Reconnaissance Office
  • NROL-42
  • United Launch Alliance
  • Vandenberg Air Force Base

Related Articles

Mission Reports

Falcon 9 launch delay sets up potential SpaceX ‘doubleheader’ next weekend

June 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has pushed back the liftoff of a Bulgarian television broadcast satellite on the company’s second previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket until at least Friday, giving ground crews time to replace a valve on the launcher inside a hangar at its Florida launch pad.

Atlas 5

Photos: Atlas 5 takes off with SBIRS GEO Flight 4

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

Revisit Friday night’s blastoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SBIRS GEO Flight 4, the fourth in an upgraded line of U.S. Air Force missile detection and warning satellites.

Atlas 5

Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

November 10, 2016 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from California at 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. EST; 1830 GMT) today to deliver the sharp-eyed WorldView 4 satellite into space to collect best-in-the-industry, 31-centimeter-resolution commercial imagery for retail. Follow the mission in our live journal.

News Headlines

  • NASA confident Artemis 2 heat shield will protect crew during re-entry
    April 10, 2026
  • Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday
    April 5, 2026
  • ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission
    April 3, 2026
  • Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission
    April 2, 2026
  • Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972
    April 1, 2026
  • Falcon 9 booster launches for record 34th time on Starlink delivery mission
    March 30, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 119 payloads on smallsat rideshare mission from California
    March 30, 2026
  • SpaceX launches batch of Starlink satellites from the West Coast
    March 26, 2026
  • NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base
    March 25, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
    March 22, 2026
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