Latest Delta IV Stories

PROMONTORY, Utah, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) conducted a successful cold-temperature ground test today of a Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM-60) solid rocket motor used to boost ULA Delta IV launch vehicles. The main test objectives from today's static motor firing were measuring the rocket motor's performance at cold temperatures, qualifying a new vectorable nozzle on the motor and verifying the performance of new nozzle insulation at...

DENVER, May 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Launch Alliance was notified today, that the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) representing its workforce at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Decatur, Ala., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., has accepted the company's new three-year contract offer. This concludes the 2012 contract negotiation process which began several weeks ago. The new contract covers approximately 860 represented...

CENTENNIAL, Colo., April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) today announced the formation of a new organization that will focus exclusively on NASA's human spaceflight programs. ULA's Human Launch Services organization will be dedicated to supporting NASA and its partners in the development of capabilities to deliver U.S. astronauts to Low Earth Orbit and human exploration beyond Earth orbit. "NASA is making tremendous progress towards closing the U.S. human...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched a Delta 4 rocket at 4:12 p.m. (7:12 p.m. EDT) Tuesday, April 3 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying a surreptitious spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) -- a division of the US military. The launch was a success, but only after several delays due to inclement weather and a technical issue. Initially scheduled to lift off five days earlier, the 20-story-high Delta 4 rocket climbed into...

ARLINGTON, Va., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) composite and propulsion technologies supported the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. ATK's two 70-foot long, 60-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM) ignited at liftoff, burned for 90 seconds, and provided 560,000 pounds of thrust to help deliver the payload to orbit. ATK designed and produced the nozzle for...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The sky rumbled with the sound of a rocket launch today as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne once again demonstrated the consistent reliability of its propulsion systems with the successful lift-off of a critical satellite for the U.S. government. The mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV medium rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines providing the...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-6 here at 4:12 p.m. PDT today. Designated NROL-25, the mission is in support of national defense. "Congratulations to the NRO and to all the mission partners involved in this critical national security launch," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations....

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Feb. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Mobile User Objective System-1 (MUOS-1) for the United States Navy lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 here at 5:15 p.m. EST today. This was ULA's 2nd launch of an aggressive 11 mission schedule for the year and at nearly 15,000 pounds, MUOS-1 marks the heaviest satellite launched to date by an Atlas launch vehicle. "ULA is honored to serve with our...

The U.S. Air Force launched a high-speed broadband communications satellite onboard an unmanned heavy-lift Delta IV rocket on Thursday. The 217-foot-long rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the $464-million spacecraft successfully into orbit. It was United Launch Alliance's (ULA) first launch of the year, and 18th launch of the Delta IV vehicle. "We are honored to have worked closely with our Air Force and mission partners to enable today's successful...

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the Wideband Global SATCOM-4 (WGS-4) satellite for the United States Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 here at 7:38 p.m. EST today. This is ULA's first launch of the year and marked the 18th launch of the Delta IV vehicle. "We are honored to have worked closely with our Air Force and mission partners to enable today's successful launch of the...