Already shrouded in the Atlas 5 rocket’s Extra Extended Payload Fairing (XEPF) aluminum nose cone, the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite was delivered to Cape Canaveral’s Vertical Integration Facility on Tuesday, July 19 and lifted aboard the United Launch Alliance vehicle for flight.

NASA has a plan to retrieve 12 ejectable data recorders released from an Orion test capsule in the waters off Cape Canaveral following a launch abort test Tuesday, but local boaters and beachgoers could still find the floating orange devices.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket went through a practice countdown and fueling exercise today to prepare for its Dec. 7 liftoff to deliver a U.S. military communications satellite into space.