An Atlas 5 first stage, with its Russian-made RD-180 engine, is prepared for stacking outside ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility on Wednesday morning. Credit: United Launch Alliance
Final assembly of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket began Wednesday with the hoisting of a first stage booster onto a mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral, kicking off a campaign to prepare for liftoff May 19 on a delayed unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule.