Photos: Thursday’s Atlas 5 rollout to launch pad

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.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 1:21 p.m. EDT (1721 GMT) with a satellite to replenish the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System navigation network.

Christopher Ferguson, commander of the final space shuttle flight and now a Boeing executive, has stepped down as commander of the first piloted test flight of the company’s troubled CST-100 Starliner commercial spacecraft, he and Boeing announced Wednesday. He has been replaced by NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore.