{"id":12830,"date":"2019-11-17T19:15:17","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T11:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ula-kicks-off-next-delta-4-heavy-launch-campaign\/"},"modified":"2019-11-17T19:15:17","modified_gmt":"2019-11-17T11:15:17","slug":"ula-kicks-off-next-delta-4-heavy-launch-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ula-kicks-off-next-delta-4-heavy-launch-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"ULA kicks off next Delta 4-Heavy launch campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next Delta 4-Heavy rocket was raised vertical Friday at Cape Canaveral, signaling the start of a comprehensive series of pre-flight tests before liftoff next year with a top secret U.S. government spy satellite.<\/p>\n

The triple-core rocket rolled out to Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, riding a 36-wheel, diesel-powered transporter to the pad from United Launch Alliance\u2019s nearby Horizontal Integration Facility, ULA said in an update posted on its website.<\/p>\n

ULA\u2019s ground team assembled the Delta 4-Heavy rocket inside the Horizontal Integration Facility. The Delta 4-Heavy is the most powerful rocket currently in ULA\u2019s fleet, with three first stage boosters bolted together, each powered by a hydrogen-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engine.<\/p>\n

According to ULA, teams inside the HIF connected the Delta 4-Heavy\u2019s three common booster cores, then installed the rocket\u2019s upper stage to the forward end of the core stage. Workers also added the Launch Mate Unit, a structure at the base of the rocket that includes 12 hold-down bolts. Pyrotechnic charges fire to release the bolts at liftoff, allowing the Delta 4-Heavy to climb away from the launch pad.<\/p>\n

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ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Delta 4-Heavy is set to launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency which develops and owns the U.S. government\u2019s intelligence-gathering spy satellites. The identify of the payload is top secret, and the mission is officially codenamed NROL-44.<\/p>\n

The payload aboard the NROL-44 mission is likely heading for a high-altitude perch in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth, where the NRO operates surveillance satellites capable of eavesdropping on foreign communication signals.<\/p>\n

If the NROL-44 payload is similar to previous NRO spy satellites launched into similar geosynchronous orbits, the Delta 4-Heavy rocket will deliver its spacecraft passenger directly to a circular orbit some 22,300 miles in altitude, a lofty orbit that typically requires three firings by the Delta 4\u2019s upper stage RL10 engine.<\/p>\n

ULA is building five more Delta 4-Heavy rockets for launches through 2023, all carrying payloads for the NRO that military officials say are unable to launch into their targeted orbits on any other rocket that is currently operational. Many of the NRO\u2019s satellites are heavy and large \u2014 comparable to the size of a school bus \u2014 and are designed to be integrated with their rockets in a vertical configuration, rather than horizontally.<\/p>\n

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ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The launcher for the NROL-44 mission was raised vertical on its launch mount Friday. Teams positioned the rocket inside pad 37\u2019s mobile gantry tower to prepare for a series of systems tests before the end of the year.<\/p>\n

The Delta 4 team also plans to perform a wet dress rehearsal, during which ULA\u2019s launch team will practice countdown procedures and fill the rocket\u2019s cryogenic propellant tanks, then halt the launch sequence before engine ignition. The Delta 4\u2019s tanks will then be drained, and the rocket will be readied to receive its top secret spy payload next year.<\/p>\n

The NROL-44 mission is scheduled for launch in June, marking the 12th flight of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket since 2004, and the 41st Delta 4 mission overall.<\/p>\n

The arrival of Delta 4-Heavy at pad 37 comes less than three months after ULA launched the final medium-lift Delta 4 variant Aug. 22. That mission signaled the retirement of the \u201csingle stick\u201d Delta 4 rocket as the company focuses on flying the less expensive Atlas 5 launcher and developing the new Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle.<\/p>\n

ULA plans another Delta 4-Heavy launch next September from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, also hauling a classified NRO payload into orbit. Once teams complete testing on the Delta 4-Heavy at Cape Canaveral, ULA will ready the Delta 4-Heavy at Vandenberg for its mission at Space Launch Complex 6.<\/p>\n

Additional photos of the Delta 4-Heavy\u2019s rollout to pad 37 are posted below.<\/p>\n

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ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
ULA crews transferred the Delta 4-Heavy rocket from the Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Complex 37 launch pad Thursday, Nov. 14. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday, Nov. 15. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday, Nov. 15. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday, Nov. 15. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday, Nov. 15. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance\u2019s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37 launch pad Friday. Credit: United Launch Alliance The next Delta 4-Heavy rocket was raised vertical Friday at Cape Canaveral, signaling the start of a comprehensive series of pre-flight tests before liftoff next year with a top secret U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2284,1962,1878,1963,1688,1408,25,257],"class_list":["post-12830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cape-canaveral-air-force-station","tag-complex-37","tag-delta","tag-delta-385","tag-delta-4","tag-delta-4-heavy","tag-launch","tag-military-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12830\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}