Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

Relive Tuesday night’s spectactular liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo ship with this series of replays.

The launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is less than a year away, and the steady pace of work inside the craft’s pristine assembly hall in California is keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff from Cape Canaveral next July, despite growing costs, according to mission managers.

This photo gallery shows the Mexican Morelos 3 communications satellite being encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket’s payload fairing for the planned Oct. 2 liftoff.