Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

Working under the cloud of the global coronavirus pandemic, technicians and engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center have installed a rotor-driven drone on the agency’s next Mars rover and fueled the spacecraft’s “sky crane” landing system in preparation for launch in July.

United Launch Alliance announced Monday that the company will assume responsibility for commercial marketing and sales for Atlas 5 rocket missions, taking over for a Lockheed Martin division that previously sold Atlas 5 launch services on the commercial market.

The 330-foot tall mobile service tower is rolled away from the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s pad 37B in the hours before the scheduled liftoff on Aug. 19.