Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

These photos were taken on Wednesday, Dec. 2, approximately 24 hours before the scheduled liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 with Orbital ATK’s commercial Cygnus cargo ship bound for the International Space Station.

Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT).

A signals intercepter for the U.S. spy satellite agency was successfully launched into a high orbit over the top of the world by an Atlas 5 rocket on Saturday night.