Photos: Delta 4-Heavy launch gallery

In a triumph of deep space navigation and with Pluto shrinking in its wake, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has steered on a course to reach a tiny object named 2014 MU69 for a whirlwind visit on New Year’s Day 2019.

As a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket prepares to carry NASA’s Orion spaceship on its first orbital flight test, we look back at the seven previous Heavy launches.

The frozen faraway miniature world targeted for a high-speed flyby by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on Jan. 1, 2019, now has a nickname: Ultima Thule.