Photos: Predawn launch of Atlas 5

A heavy-duty crane towering over launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in recent weeks has removed several large sections of a disused structure once needed to install satellites and space station modules into space shuttle cargo bays.

Rocket Lab’s Electron commercial satellite launcher lifted off from New Zealand on its debut test flight Thursday and soared into space on its maiden mission.

Launching the U.S. Navy’s fifth MUOS mobile communications satellite, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral today.