Latest Delta IV Stories

A Delta IV Heavy rocket, reportedly carrying the largest satellite on Earth, successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, rocket manufacturer United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced in a corporate press release.The craft, which was propelled into space at 5:58pm Eastern time, was carrying a classified cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. According to BBC News, the speculation is that said cargo is an espionage satellite that will be used to "eavesdrop on...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Nov. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today helped boost a classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite was onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, powered by three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 engines and one upper-stage RL10B-2 engine. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company. "The three RS-68 engines...

CAPE CANAVERAL AFS, Fla., Nov. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 here at 5:58 p.m. EST today. Designated NROL-32, the mission is in support of national defense. This was the fourth Delta IV Heavy launch and the 351st launch overall in Delta program history. A Delta IV Heavy demonstration flight occurred in December 2004, the first Air Force operational...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Nov. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 350th time in its illustrious 50-year program history, a Delta rocket launched from U.S. soil, adding another chapter to one of the most successful rocket launch programs in American history. The 350th mission was a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket launching the fourth Italian-built Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean Basin Observation (COSMO-SkyMed 4) satellite from Space Launch Complex-2 at 7:20...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 East here at 9:03 p.m. PDT September 20. The mission was in support of national defense. This mission marked the third Atlas V from the west coast in program history. The inaugural Atlas V launch from Vandenberg occurred March 13, 2008, and the second occurred on Oct. 18, 2009....

CANOGA PARK, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne celebrated 50 years of powering Delta-family rockets into orbit with the successful launch of the first NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF military navigation satellite on May 27. The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's RS-68 and RL10 engines providing booster and upper-stage propulsion,...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that its engines contributed to the successful launch of the first Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF satellite. Aerojet will continue to provide propulsion throughout the life of the satellite. GPS IIF was launched aboard a Delta IV rocket with Aerojet thrusters on the upper stage. The satellite includes Aerojet propulsion systems which will be used annually for ephemeras...

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., May. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating 50 years of launch for one of the most successful rocket programs in U.S. history, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV successfully launched the Air Force's Global Positioning System IIF SV-1 spacecraft at 11 p.m. EDT yesterday from Space Launch Complex-37. GPS IIF SV-1 marked the 349th launch in the Delta program's 50 year history, which began with its first launch on May 13, 1960. "We congratulate the Air Force...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne received a $1.8 million contract from United Launch Alliance to help design and develop an Emergency Detection System (EDS) for human spaceflights to be proposed for Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. The EDS is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, which aims to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop, demonstrate and accelerate human spaceflight capabilities. Pratt &...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- United Launch Alliance, on behalf of Boeing Launch Services, successfully launched the third of three next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) missions for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The satellite, designated GOES P was launched aboard a Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex-37 at 6:57 p.m. EST. The first GOES satellite in the series, designated GOES N, was launched...