Delta IV launches

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This page is a list of launches of the Delta IV rocket. For more information as a whole, see Delta IV rocket.

The following is information about all the various Delta IV launches.

[edit] Past launch

A unique aerial view of NROL-22 launch from SLC-6 (USAF photo/Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ)

• The Eutelsat W5 communications satellite was first launch of a Delta IV using the Medium+ (4,2) variant. The launch occurred on 20 November 2002, from Cape Canaveral. The communications satellite was placed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

• DSCS III-A3 (Defense Satellite Communications System) was the second launch, also from Cape Canaveral on 10 March 2003. The Medium placed the U.S. Air Force's satellite into GTO.

• DSCS III-B6 was launched on 29 August 2003 from Cape Canaveral. The Medium carried the last of the DSCS satellites into GTO.

GOES-N launch on a Medium+ (4,2)

• The Heavy Demo was the first launch of the Heavy variant on 21 December 2004 after significant delays due to bad weather. Due to cavitation in the propellant lines, sensors registered depletion of propellant. The strap-on, and later core CBC engines shut down prematurely, even though sufficient propellant remained to continue the burn as scheduled. The second stage attempted to compensate for the under-burn, until it ran out of propellant. This flight was a test launch carrying a payload consisting of:
  • DemoSat — 6020 kg; an aluminum cylinder filled with 60 brass rods — planned to be carried to GEO; however due to the sensor faults, the satellite did not reach this orbit.
  • NanoSat-2, carried to low Earth orbit (LEO) — a set of two very small satellites of 24 and 21 kg, nicknamed Sparky and Ralphie — planned to orbit for one day. Given the under-burn, the two most likely did not reach a stable orbit. [1]

• GOES-N, a weather satellite for NOAA and NASA, was launched aboard a Medium+ (4,2) from Cape Canaveral on 24 May 2006. The launch had been delayed several times due to technical issues and a union strike.

• NROL-22, a classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was launched aboard a Medium+ (4,2) on 27 June 2006. This was the first Delta IV launched from SLC-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB).

DMSP-17 launch on a Delta IV Medium

• DMSP F17, a United States Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite, was launched aboard a Delta IV Medium on 04 November 2006, from Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6).

• DSP-23 is the first launch of a valuable payload aboard a Heavy vehicle. This launch would also be the first Delta IV launch contracted by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The main payload is the 23rd and final Defense Support Program missile-warning satellite. Launch will take place from Cape Canaveral and is currently scheduled for 31 January 2007.

• NROL-25 will carry a classified U.S. NRO reconnaissance satellite on a Medium+ (5,2). Launch date is currently to be determined.

• NROL-26 will carry a classified U.S. NRO satellite on a Heavy. Launch date is currently to be determined.

List updated: 3 November 2006.

[edit] Planned launches

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List Date: 3 November 2006