Delta 4

ULA’s Delta rocket assembly line falls silent

United Launch Alliance has closed its Delta rocket assembly line in Alabama after the 389th and last Delta rocket rolled out of the factory for the journey to its launch base in Florida, clearing real estate in ULA’s sprawling manufacturing center for the next-generation Vulcan launch vehicle.

Delta 4

Delta 4-Heavy rocket deploys spysat on final planned mission from ‘Slick Six’

United Launch Alliance sent a triple-core Delta 4-Heavy with a top secret U.S. government spy satellite into orbit Saturday from California’s Central Coast, closing out a chapter in the tangled history of a launch pad originally built to support military astronaut missions on Titan rockets and space shuttles. Two more Delta 4-Heavy rockets are left in ULA’s inventory for launches in 2023 and 2024 from Cape Canaveral.

Delta 4

Live coverage: Delta 4-Heavy rocket launches from California

United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 3:25 p.m. PDT (6:25 p.m. EDT; 2225 GMT) Saturday with a classified spacecraft for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency. The heavy-lifter launched for the final time from California, with two more Delta 4-Heavy flights remaining from Cape Canaveral before the rocket’s retirement.