Replay: Atlas 5 launches missile warning satellite

Three Chinese military surveillance spacecraft and an experimental nanosatellite rode a Long March 4C rocket into orbit Tuesday.

The ninth and final flight of Japan’s H-2B rocket — the country’s most powerful launcher — drove an automated cargo freighter into orbit Wednesday on a five-day pursuit of the International Space Station.

Commercial ziplines have been installed and tested at United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket pad as the emergency escape system if astronauts and ground personnel need to evacuate the Crew Access Tower.