Delta 2 – Spaceflight Now

May 9, 2025

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Delta 2 rocket exhibit opens at Kennedy Space Center

March 28, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s final Delta 2 rocket is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, a monument to an industry workhorse that helped build the GPS navigation satellite fleet and enabled a new era of Mars exploration.

Photos: Final Delta 2 launch shines before dawn in California

September 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Flying for the 155th and final time, a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket took off from California on Sept. 15 with NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite.

Leftover Delta 2 rocket to go on display at Kennedy Space Center

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance plans to assemble leftover parts for a Delta 2 rocket display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida alongside other icons of U.S. rocketry, the company announced Saturday soon after the final Delta 2 launch.

Early morning launch closes book on Delta 2 legacy spanning nearly 30 years

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket fired away from a California military base and disappeared into an overcast cloud deck Saturday on its final flight, carrying a NASA research satellite into orbit and closing the book on a nearly 30-year legacy of launches.

Engineers say goodbye to society-changing Delta 2 rocket

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

When the first Delta 2 rocket took off on Valentine’s Day 1989, ideas like navigating by smartphone and driving robots on Mars were science fiction. More than 150 launches over the last 30 years helped change all that.

Live coverage: Final Delta 2 rocket launches from California

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The final flight of a Delta 2 rocket, a mainstay of the U.S. launch industry for nearly 30 years, began at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT; 1302 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with NASA’s ICESat 2 Earth science satellite.

Installation of ice-measuring satellite caps assembly of last Delta 2 rocket

August 28, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite has been bolted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as ground teams prepare for the final liftoff of the workhorse launcher Sept. 15.

Photos: Final Delta 2 rocket assembled for launch in California

August 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

The step-by-step stacking of United Launch Alliance’s final Delta 2 rocket was completed in June at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for liftoff Sept. 15 with an Earth science satellite for NASA.

Tanking test marks resumption of Delta 2 rocket’s final launch campaign

August 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

A team of United Launch Alliance and NASA engineers worked through Delta 2 launch day fueling procedures during a simulated countdown Wednesday for what should be the second-to-last time before the venerable rocket’s final liftoff next month from California’s Central Coast.

Towers at historic Florida launch pad toppled

July 12, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force on Thursday demolished towers once used to assemble Delta 2 rockets at Cape Canaveral for missions to Mars, four dozen flights to deploy the GPS navigation network, and numerous launches with scientific, commercial and military payloads.