Photos: Gantry retracted from Atlas 5

Ready to deliver 1.5 million pounds of thrust Thursday morning, an Atlas 5 rocket was rolled from its assembly building to the launch pad today for its national security satellite-deployment flight.

An upgraded, cyber-hardened $1 billion satellite to support the U.S. military’s missile defense systems rode into orbit from Cape Canaveral Tuesday at the tip of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

United Launch Alliance crews at Cape Canaveral have topped off an Atlas 5 rocket for liftoff Monday with the U.S. military’s next infrared sentinel to join a satellite fleet designed detect missile launches around the world.