Photos: EchoStar 19 launch as seen from press site

Take a look back at the Feb. 9 launch of a 189-foot-tall (57.6-meter) Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying the European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft.

Carrying a $2.7 billion NASA mission to Mars, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket took off July 30 from Cape Canaveral and fired into a summer sky powered by four powerful solid rocket boosters and a kerosene-burning main engine.

Five small satellites, including one built by high school students in Southern California, are awaiting launch Friday from New Zealand aboard the first commercial flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron booster.