Photos: Delta 4-Heavy launch as seen from press site

SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket is set for liftoff Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy-lift launcher will head on an easterly course over the Atlantic Ocean atop nearly 5 million pounds of thrust.

A collection of pad photos from the ULA Atlas 5 rocket launch of the X-37B spaceplane on its fourth mission taken by photographer Walter Scriptunas II.

Launching the Wideband Global SATCOM 8 satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT).