Continuing its efforts to blend the Atlas and Delta rocket families, United Launch Alliance this week shipped two vehicles together for the first time aboard an ocean-going vessel from the firm's Alabama factory to the Cape Canaveral spaceport.

The rocket stages are prepared for offloading from the Delta Mariner vessel at Cape Canaveral. Credit: ULA

The Delta Mariner cargo ship has been in use for the past decade to transport the Delta 4 rocket stages to the Florida and California launch sites from the production plant in Decatur, Alabama.

In contrast, the Atlas 5 segments have flown by Antonov aircraft from manufacturing facilities in Denver to the respective launch bases.

But the Lockheed Martin's Atlas and Boeing's Delta programs were merged in December 2006 to form United Launch Alliance. The consolidation has brought the once-rival teams together to join forces in launching U.S. military spacecraft, National Reconnaissance Office satellites and NASA science missions.

The Atlas production work was transferred from Colorado to Delta's massive Alabama plant in 2009. Now, both rockets can sail to the launch sites aboard the Delta Mariner.

"ULA is focused on providing the best value to our customers. Utilizing the Mariner to ship both Atlas and Delta launch vehicles simultaneously offers up to $800,000 cost savings per trip and long-term cost savings for our customers," said Mark Wilkins, vice president of program operations. "ULA's formation continues to garner a substantial return on investment and exceeds ULA's consolidation savings commitment to the United States government."

This week's delivery brought the main core and upper stages for the Atlas 5 that is scheduled for blastoff November 25 to propel NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover to the red planet and the Delta 4 that will deploy the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite for the Air Force in December.

The 312-foot roll-on, roll-off vessel traveled through the Gulf of Mexico and around to the east coast of Florida, docking at the Port Canaveral wharf.

The 2,000-mile trip to the Cape typically takes just over a week. Voyages to California's Vandenberg Air Force Base are month-long treks that traverse through the Panama Canal and stretch more than 4,000 miles long.