Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

Shielded from view within the protective rocket nose cone, a covert surveillance satellite has been mounted atop a Delta 4-Heavy rocket for launch June 4.

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday afternoon at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, clearing a major hurdle before it launches Saturday night — weather permitting — with a four-person crew heading for the International Space Station.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket topped by the Air Force’s X-37B miniature space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 today to deliver the spaceplane into orbit.