Early Thursday morning, ULA launched its first mission of the year, which also happened to be the company’s largest offering, the Delta IV Heavy. The launch was a bittersweet moment, as this now means only one more of this original “big orange rocket” is left to fly.
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We have an exciting week ahead with a rocket launch we don’t get to see often (and I will miss it). This week, ULA plans to launch its second to last Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral for the National Reconnaissance Office. Not to be forgotten about, SpaceX will be on deck with two launches of Starlink satellites this week.
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In a four-minute “How It’s Made” style video, ULA takes viewers inside its Decatur, Alabama rocket factory to see where the company makes its Delta, Atlas, and Vulcan rockets.
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ULA’s next mission and first of 2021, NROL-82 is a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office and is launching on top of the large Delta IV Heavy rocket. This will end up being the first launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the prime spaceport for polar launches.
Date: Monday, April 26, 4:47 PM EDT
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After sitting on the pad for over a year and undergoing multiple launch attempts since late August, ULA’s Delta IV Heavy lifted off on Thursday carrying a classified payload known only as NROL-44.
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Update: December 10, 2020: Livestream for tonight’s launch is now available. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:09 p.m. EST.
United Launch Alliance has released a new target date for the NROL-44 mission using its massive Delta IV Heavy rocket. The classified mission for the U.S. National Reconnoissance Office Laboratory was originally set for August 26, but multiple failures to launch for various reasons took the launch off the calendar.
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