United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch its Delta Heavy IV rocket into space for the last time today. Today, this launch vehicle will take off for the sixteenth time, ending the streak of carrying heavy payloads into orbit. The rocket is ready at the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the company will begin the live broadcast at 18:15 CET, with the launch window opening 25 minutes later.
The NROL-70 mission will carry a secret payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) into orbit. It rarely discloses the contents of its payloads, and most of them are spy satellites that gather information for US national security, including information about natural disasters for faster humanitarian aid. “The NROL-70 mission will enhance NRO’s ability to provide a wide range of timely intelligence to national decision makers, warfighters and intelligence analysts to protect the nation’s vital interests and support humanitarian efforts around the world.” ULA said in the mission description.
The rocket has a fairing with a diameter of five meters and a height of almost 20 meters. Including the fairing, the rocket measures 71.6 meters. The rocket is complemented by two side boosters, which, like the rocket’s first stage, are filled with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen. The upper stage then has one engine for the same fuel.
The Delta IV isn’t the only rocket that ULA will stop flying. The next to be retired will be the Atlas V – but according to space.com, it will be retired in 2029, as flights on this rocket are already booked several years in advance. For example, this is Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which will fly to the ISS and will also launch Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. The company wants to prioritize using the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which first flew this January when it launched Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander.
