September 21, 2026
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Breaking News
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster arrives at pad ahead of first orbital Starship launch Mission Reports
  • [ September 19, 2026 ] Russian Progress cargo ship arrives at International Space Station News
  • [ September 19, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Falcon 9
  • [ September 15, 2026 ] SpaceX launches national security payload for U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Falcon 9
  • [ September 15, 2026 ] Avio launches pair of climate monitoring European spacecraft to study plants, oceans and atmospheric changes News

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

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Falcon 9

Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Friday from California

December 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is set to close out a record-breaking 2017 launch campaign Friday night with the delivery of 10 more Iridium voice and data relay satellites to orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Falcon 9

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket soars into space from California

August 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched its 12th Falcon 9 rocket of the year Thursday from California with Taiwan’s Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite. The two-stage rocket lifted off at 11:51 a.m. PDT (2:51 p.m. EDT; 1851 GMT) and deployed the Taiwanese-built spacecraft into polar orbit. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed on a drone ship downrange in the Pacific Ocean.

Atlas 5

Recap story: 100 successes and counting for United Launch Alliance

October 2, 2015 Justin Ray

The 100th flight by United Launch Alliance took off Friday for deployment of a sophisticated geomobile communications satellite to bridge the digital divide in Mexico while extending the rocket company’s unparalleled record of success in launching $80 billion in space assets.

News Headlines

  • SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster arrives at pad ahead of first orbital Starship launch
    September 21, 2026
  • Russian Progress cargo ship arrives at International Space Station
    September 19, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg
    September 19, 2026
  • SpaceX launches national security payload for U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg
    September 15, 2026
  • Avio launches pair of climate monitoring European spacecraft to study plants, oceans and atmospheric changes
    September 15, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 700th Falcon rocket, carries final 3 O3b mPOWER satellites to orbit for SES
    September 13, 2026
  • SpaceX launches classified payload for the U.S. Space Force
    September 9, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 80th Starlink mission of 2026
    September 5, 2026
  • SpaceX launches Starlink mission from West Coast
    September 1, 2026
  • Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next ‘great observatory,’ launched
    August 29, 2026
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