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.
Delta 310: Delta 4-Heavy demo flight
The test launch of Boeing’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket began with a breath-taking blastoff from Cape Canaveral on December 21, 2004, but lower-than-expected performance due to cavitation during the initial minutes of flight ultimately caused the mission to fall short of its intended orbit. Still, the test was considered a success. Credit: Carleton Bailie/Boeing
Delta 329: Delta 4-Heavy launches DSP 23
It is America’s largest unmanned space booster. Its level of complexity causes engineers to liken it to launching three rockets at one time. And its fiery blastoffs create a dazzling yet heart-in-your-throat sight. Now, the mammoth Delta 4-Heavy has entered operational service with the 2007 successful ascent carrying a critical surveillance satellite. Credit: Ben Cooper/Launchphotography.com
Delta 337: Delta 4-Heavy launches NROL-26
America’s heavy-lift rocket, the white and orange triple-barreled booster towering 23 stories tall, launched a new intelligence-gathering satellite for the nation Jan. 17, 2009. Credit: Pat Corkery/ULA
Delta 351: Delta 4-Heavy launches NROL-32
One could not overstate the importance of the Nov. 21, 2010 Delta 4-Heavy launch to national security, a mission by the massive rocket from Cape Canaveral that deployed “the largest satellite in the world” to hear the whispers of evil. Credit: Pat Corkery/ULA
Delta 352: Delta 4-Heavy launches NROL-49
The clandestine cargo carried into polar orbit Jan. 20, 2011 aboard the first California-launched Delta 4-Heavy rocket was a crucial replacement satellite for the nation’s surveillance and security network. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Delta 360: Delta 4-Heavy lofts NROL-15
The Delta 4-Heavy rocket, sporting more-powerful main engines to improve the performance of America’s biggest booster, on June 29, 2012 launched carrying a super-secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: Pat Corkery/ULA
Delta 364: Delta 4-Heavy launches NROL-65
Igniting its three main engines in a staggered sequence for the first time, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket successfully flew into Earth orbit and deployed a U.S. national security satellite on Aug. 28, 2013. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
December’s first orbital test flight of NASA’s Orion crew capsule was almost perfect, but engineers are carefully analyzing 600 gigabytes of data recorded on the spacecraft’s trip 3,600 miles into space to see how future missions to an asteroid and Mars could be improved.
Take another look back at the Orion spaceship’s launch atop a Delta 4-Heavy rocket on Dec. 5 with this gallery of NASA and United Launch Alliance photos.
