Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, the spacecraft that will grab a piece of Asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth, shipped to Kennedy Space Center from the Lockheed Martin production facilities in Denver on May 20 aboard an Air Force C-17.

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, expanding the reach of the military’s most secure, jam-resistant satellite communications network.

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the EchoStar 19 satellite for HughesNet’s direct-to-home Internet connectivity. Launch is scheduled for Sunday at 1:27 p.m. EST (1827 GMT).