Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

Cape Canaveral was the departure point for more space launches in 2015 than in any year since 2003, with 17 takeoffs by Atlas, Falcon and Delta rockets hoisting U.S. military satellites, commercial payloads and cargo for the International Space Station.

The massive 212-foot-long core stage of the Space Launch System rocket arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center late Tuesday morning. Rollout to the VAB is set to begin around 9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Take a look back at the Feb. 9 launch of a 189-foot-tall (57.6-meter) Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying the European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft.