Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket powered away from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California tonight to place a classified surveillance satellite into space for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Follow the ascent in our live journal.

NASA has announced a one-day delay in SpaceX’s next cargo launch until Wednesday to allow time for ground teams to replace moldy food bars meant for 40 mice heading for the International Space Station as part of a biological research experiment, denying the launch company a chance at two Falcon 9 missions on back-to-back days.

Bill Gerstenmaier, former director of spaceflight at NASA Headquarters and a widely respected aerospace engineer and manager, has taken a consulting position at SpaceX, the California rocket company NASA helped save in 2008 with the award of a $1.6 billion contract to build and launch space station cargo ships.