Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

In the span of two weeks, United Launch Alliance technicians performed the basic buildup of the Atlas 5 rocket and then mated the advanced GOES-R weather satellite that will be hauled into space on Saturday.

Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now’s editor, asked NASA’s acting administrator about the space agency’s commercial crew and Artemis programs during a one-on-one virtual interview Tuesday, April 20.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT) today to deploy a classified satellite in service to the national security of the United States. Follow the mission in our live journal.