Update: April 9, 1:20 p.m. ET: The tri-core rocket launched on time today and appeared to be a successful launch and deployment.
Original article follows.
United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV rocket is finally ready for its ultimate mission, marking the end of an iconic era that began more than 60 years ago.
The Delta IV heavy rocket Launch is scheduled for Tuesday at 12:53 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the second attempt to say goodbye to the launch vehicle; The rocket’s original launch date was delayed due to fluid pump failure issue this was discovered shortly before takeoff.
ULA will broadcast the rocket’s final launch on its website website, and you can also tune in via the live feed below. The broadcast begins at approximately 12:23 p.m. ET.
ULA has described its latest Delta rocket as the “most metallic.” creates a massive fireball seconds before its engines come to life, causing the booster to burst into flames. The dramatic launch is designed to burn excess hydrogen and also increases the cooling factor many times over.
On its 16th and final flight, the 72-meter-tall two-stage rocket will carry a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office as part of the NROL-70 mission.
The mission was originally scheduled to launch on March 28, but the launch was canceled due to a “problem with the gaseous nitrogen pipeline that provides pneumatic pressure to the launch vehicle’s systems,” ULA said wrote on X back then.
ULA’s Delta IV Heavy rocket is the last medium-to-heavy launch vehicle in the Delta family. The Delta legacy dates back to the Cold War, when the first Delta rocket was launched on May 13, 1960 by SLC-17 at Cape Canaveral as part of a program developed by the U.S. government to build a series of expendable launch vehicles to carry payloads Launched from satellites to space missions. The rocket family had 388 launches over six decades and grew larger and more advanced over time.
After the Delta chapter comes to an end, ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is set to take over. The expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle with two stages to orbit made its debut in January. Sending the private Peregrine lander towards the Moon.
We can’t wait to see the Delta IV Heavy take off one last time and leave its final fiery burn.
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