Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

A U.S. military satellite that will fortify the “anytime, anywhere” communications infrastructure used by soldiers, ships, aircraft and drones was launched into orbit Thursday to improve the global connectivity that encompasses the planet.

The rescheduled mission comes following the April 9 scrub due to poor weather and a period on the Eastern Range marked by a noted lack of orbital launches. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is targeting Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 UTC).

Hardware problems that cropped up earlier this month on the Hubble Space Telescope, now approaching the 31st anniversary of its launch, are the latest signs the observatory is showing its age.