The Delta IV Heavy launch was scrubbed Wednesday morning due to an issue with a ground system pneumatic valve. The new launch window opens at 3:35 a.m. Thursday.
The Delta IV Heavy rocket has been in service for years and will take to the sky from the Cape on Wednesday for the second to last time.
The Delta family of rockets, with roots dating back to the 1950s, is phasing out and over the last two decades. The Delta IV Heavy has carried out 15 missions, including this one.
“The Delta IV Heavy vehicle is really a workhorse for the Department of Defense and for very critical national security assets and large payloads, which are typically spy satellites,” Don Platt of Florida Tech said.
The ULA rocket has three core boosters and this launch will lift one more surveillance satellite into orbit.
The parts of the complex 234-foot Delta IV Heavy were assembled at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s launch complex 37, where it will lift off with 2.1 million pounds of thrust.
The very last Delta IV Heavy mission is scheduled for next year. Then after that, big and heavy payloads will rely on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy – the only operational rocket that comes close to the Delta IV Heavy.
“ULA has been phasing out some of their older rockets, and it was just sort of the natural progression anyway. But I think that there has been a lot of pressure from newer companies. Obviously other launch companies like SpaceX,” said Adrienne Dove at the University of Central Florida.
This is the first launch this year for ULA that is also working on getting the new rocket Vulcan Centaur off the ground for its first mission at some point this summer.
But before that next generation of rockets launch, the current generation is wrapping up its legacy with these last two missions.
“The Delta IV Heavy is just about the most expensive launch vehicle aside from the SLS. So, in that way, it was just not able to compete and is one reason why we are seeing it get phased out,” Platt said.
Source: Wesh