{"id":14094,"date":"2017-12-30T00:58:11","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T16:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/classified-payload-hoisted-atop-delta-4-rocket-at-vandenberg\/"},"modified":"2017-12-30T00:58:11","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T16:58:11","slug":"classified-payload-hoisted-atop-delta-4-rocket-at-vandenberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/classified-payload-hoisted-atop-delta-4-rocket-at-vandenberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Classified payload hoisted atop Delta 4 rocket at Vandenberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hnX6kFFD7oc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A clandestine satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office has been raised atop its United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for liftoff Jan. 10.<\/p>\n<p>Already encapsulated inside the Delta 4\u2019s payload fairing, the spacecraft was recently transferred from a nearby processing facility and hoisted by a crane inside the mobile gantry at Space Launch Complex 6 nestled between hills and the Pacific Ocean near the southern edge of the military base on California\u2019s Central Coast.<\/p>\n<p>Ground crews deftly guided the payload atop the Delta 4\u2019s second stage and completed its attachment to cap assembly of the 217-foot-tall (66-meter) rocket.<\/p>\n<p>The mission for the NRO,&nbsp;the U.S. government\u2019s spy satellite agency, is known by the codename NROL-47.<\/p>\n<p>The Delta 4 is expected to loft a radar surveillance satellite to gather all-weather, day-and-night imagery for analysis by U.S. intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n<p>The rocket slated for launch Jan. 10 will use the Delta 4\u2019s \u201c5,2\u201d configuration&nbsp;five-meter-diameter payload fairing and two solid rocket boosters attached on each side of the hydrogen-fueled first stage. That version of the Delta 4 has flown only twice before, and analysts who track space activities believe both launches \u2014 in 2012 and 2016 \u2014 hauled so-called Topaz radar reconnaissance satellites into orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The flight was pushed back from Dec. 10 to&nbsp;complete software validation on a new common avionics system designed to fly on ULA\u2019s Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets. The upcoming mission will be the first time the common avionics suite has flown on a Delta 4.<\/p>\n<p>It will be the last launch of a medium-lift, single-core version of the Delta 4 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. ULA is retiring the \u201csingle-stick\u201d Delta 4 family in favor of the less expensive Atlas 5, before eventually replacing both rockets with the next-generation Vulcan launcher.<\/p>\n<p>Two more single-core Delta 4s are slated to launch from Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n<p>The heavy-lift version of the Delta 4, comprising three of the rocket\u2019s first stages bolted together, will remain in service through at least the early 2020s to deploy the NRO\u2019s most massive satellites. Those payloads weigh too much for the Atlas 5 or SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket, the two other launch vehicles currently certified to haul costly&nbsp;U.S. military and intelligence-gathering satellites into orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Photos of the NROL-47 payload\u2019s arrival at Space Launch Complex 6 and attachment to the Delta 4 rocket are posted below.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29456\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29456\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-29456\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m21221201772020PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m21221201772020PM63.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m21221201772020PM63-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m21221201772020PM63-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m21221201772020PM63-678x453.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29456\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29457\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29457\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-29457\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m31221201772101PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m31221201772101PM63.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m31221201772101PM63-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m31221201772101PM63-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m31221201772101PM63-678x453.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29457\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29458\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29458\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29458\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m41221201772118PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"1011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m41221201772118PM63.jpg 675w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m41221201772118PM63-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29458\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29459\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29459\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29459\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m61221201772135PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"1011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m61221201772135PM63.jpg 675w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m61221201772135PM63-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29459\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29460\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29460\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-29460\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m71221201772206PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m71221201772206PM63.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m71221201772206PM63-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m71221201772206PM63-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m71221201772206PM63-678x453.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29461\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29461\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29461\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m81221201772224PM63.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"1011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m81221201772224PM63.jpg 675w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/div_nrol47_m81221201772224PM63-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29461\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A clandestine satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office has been raised atop its United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for liftoff Jan. 10. Already encapsulated inside the Delta 4\u2019s payload fairing, the spacecraft was recently transferred from a nearby processing facility and hoisted by a crane inside the [&hellip;]<\/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":[1878,3067,1688,848,3068,3069,750,3081],"class_list":["post-14094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-delta","tag-delta-379","tag-delta-4","tag-national-reconnaissance-office","tag-nrol-47","tag-space-launch-complex-6","tag-united-launch-alliance","tag-vandenberg-air-force-base"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14094"}],"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=14094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}