Photos: News media images of Atlas 5 launch

The first of up to seven United Launch Alliance missions lifted off Jan. 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where a Delta 4-Heavy launcher fired into orbit with 2.1 million pounds of thrust from three hydrogen-fueled RS-68A main engines with a U.S. government spy satellite.

Less than three months after rocketing into space, the commercial WorldView 4 Earth-imagery satellite has finished in-orbit testing and calibration to begin operations for DigitalGlobe.

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the Paz Earth observation payload for Hisdesat, operator of Spain’s governmental satellites.