Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

United Launch Alliance chief executive Tory Bruno said Thursday the company will offer more rides for CubeSats aboard future Atlas 5 rocket flights, and give some away for free, in a bid to tap into a growing market of small satellites with applications in education, scientific research and commercial business.

NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite blasts off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket Saturday, launching into orbit on a three-year mission to measure moisture levels in Earth’s soils.

Animation depicts the flight of Boeing’s Starliner commercial crew capsule, ascending into orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to reach the International Space Station and re-entry to make an airbag-cushioned touchdown on land.