Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., (Nov. 21, 2010) - A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy launches with a National Reconnaissance Office payload at Space Launch Complex-37 at 5:58 p.m. EST. The Delta IV Heavy with its nearly 2 millions pounds of thrust is America’s most powerful liquid fueled rocket. This was the fourth launch of a Delta IV heavy in program history. Photo by Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance.
This was the fourth Delta IV Heavy launch and the 351st launch overall in Delta program history. A Delta IV Heavy demonstration flight occurred in December 2004, the first Air Force operational Heavy mission was launched in November 2007, and the first NRO Delta IV Heavy launch occurred in January 2009. This launch completes ULA’s launch schedule for 2010 in which the company launched eight missions including four Atlas V launches, one Delta II launch, and three Delta IV launches including today’s Delta IV Heavy.
“This second Delta IV Heavy launch for the NRO is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by the combined NRO, Air Force, supplier, and ULA team,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. “ULA is pleased to support the NRO as it protects our nation’s security and supports our warriors defending our nation around the world. This launch also tops off another exceptional year for ULA. We are proud to have launched 45 missions in 48 months since our inception December 1st, 2006.”
The ULA Delta IV Heavy vehicle featured a center common booster core with two strap-on common booster cores. Each common booster core was powered by the RS-68 cryogenic engine. An RL10B-2 cryogenic engine powered the second stage. Both engines are built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The payload was encased by a 5-meter diameter (16.7-foot diameter) aluminum, tri-sector payload fairing. ULA constructed the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle in Decatur, Alabama.
ULA's next launch is another Delta IV Heavy launch for the NRO currently scheduled for January 11, 2011 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Alabama, Harlingen, Texas and San Diego, California. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida, and Vandenberg AFB, California.
For more information on the ULA joint venture, visit the ULA Web site at.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's Three Boost A Biggie For The NRO
[SatNews] Launching a rocket and boosting a satellite requires a team. Today with the launch of the ULA rocket Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne assisted in making the mission possible. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne helped boost a classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, powered by three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 engines and one upper-stage RL10B-2 engine. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.
"The three RS-68 engines performed exactly as expected, boosting the heavy-lift Delta vehicle with the power our customers expect for such important missions," said Jim Maus, director of Expendable Propulsion Programs, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "We congratulate our United Launch Alliance customer on another successful launch." Christine Cooley, RL10 program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said, "The RL10 continues to be the reliable source of upper-stage propulsion, contributing to the successful placement of the payload into orbit."
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.