Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

Mission managers Tuesday granted approval to proceed with Wednesday’s rollout of the Atlas 5 rocket and Thursday’s launch to deliver the commercial Cygnus cargo ship into orbit to resupply the International Space Station.

Carrying a $2.7 billion NASA mission to Mars, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket took off July 30 from Cape Canaveral and fired into a summer sky powered by four powerful solid rocket boosters and a kerosene-burning main engine.

The comments came during a fireside chat featuring former NASA administrators, Charlie Bolden and Jim Bridenstine, at the conclusion of the American Astronautical Society’s 2025 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.