The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) was an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle. When it was in service from 2004 to 2024, it was the largest type in the Delta IV family and was the world's second highest-capacity rocket in operation, behind SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket and closely followed by CNSA's Long March 5 rocket. [1] [2] It was manufactured by United Launch Alliance and was first launched in December 2004 and was retired after its last flight on 9th April 2024. [3]
| Flight | Date | Payload [4] | Mass | Launch site | Outcome [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 December 2004 | DemoSat, Sparkie / 3CS-1 and Ralphie / 3CS-2 | ≈6,000 kg (13,000 lb) | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Partial failure [a] |
| 2 | 11 November 2007 | DSP-23 | 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 3 | 18 January 2009 | Orion 6 / Mentor 4 (USA-202 / NROL-26) | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 4 | 21 November 2010 | Orion 7 / Mentor 5 (USA-223 / NROL-32) | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 5 | 20 January 2011 | KH-11 Kennen 15 (USA-224 / NROL-49) | <17,000 kg (37,000 lb) | Vandenberg, SLC-6 | Success |
| 6 | 29 June 2012 | Orion 8 / Mentor 6 (USA-237 / NROL-15) | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 7 | 26 August 2013 | KH-11 Kennen 16 (USA-245 / NROL-65) | <17,000 kg (37,000 lb) | Vandenberg, SLC-6 | Success |
| 8 | 5 December 2014 | Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) | 21,000 kg (46,000 lb) [5] [b] | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 9 | 11 June 2016 | Orion 9 / Mentor 7 (USA-268 / NROL-37) | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 10 | 12 August 2018 | Parker Solar Probe [c] | 685 kg (1,510 lb) | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 11 | 19 January 2019 | NROL-71 | Classified | Vandenberg, SLC-6 | Success |
| 12 | 11 December 2020 | Orion 10 / Mentor 8 (USA-268/ NROL-44) [6] [7] | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 13 | 26 April 2021 | KH-11 Kennen 17 (NROL-82) | Classified | Vandenberg, SLC-6 | Success |
| 14 | 24 September 2022 | KH-11 Kennen 18 (NROL-91) | Classified | Vandenberg, SLC-6 | Success |
| 15 | 22 June 2023 | Orion 11 / Mentor 9 (NROL-68) [8] | Classified | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B | Success |
| 16 | 9 April 2024 | Orion 12 / Mentor 10 (NROL-70) [9] | Classified | CCSFS, SLC-37B | Success |
The Delta rocket family was a versatile range of American rocket-powered expendable launch systems that provided space launch capability in the United States from 1960 to 2024. Japan also launched license-built derivatives from 1975 to 1992. More than 300 Delta rockets were launched with a 95% success rate. The series was phased out in favor of the Vulcan Centaur, with the Delta IV Heavy rocket's last launch occurring on April 9, 2024.
Delta IV was a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family. It flew 45 missions from 2002 to 2024. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the Delta IV became a United Launch Alliance (ULA) product in 2006. The Delta IV was primarily a launch vehicle for United States Air Force (USAF) military payloads, but was also used to launch a number of United States government non-military payloads and a single commercial satellite.
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in collaboration with United States Space Force, for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. It is a 120-percent-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004. Until 2019, the program was managed by Air Force Space Command.
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was designed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. It is used for DoD, NASA, and commercial payloads. It is America's longest-serving active rocket. After 87 launches, in August 2021 ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired, and all 29 remaining launches had been sold. As of July 2024, 15 launches remain. Production ceased in 2024. Other future ULA launches will use the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 6 is a launch pad and associated support infrastructure at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Construction at the site began in 1966, but the first launch didn't occur until 1995 due to program cancellations and subsequent repurposing efforts.
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets, but the company subcontracts out the production of rocket engines and solid rocket boosters.
The Ares V was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled NASA Constellation program, which was to have replaced the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also planned to carry supplies for a human presence on Mars. Ares V and the smaller Ares I were named after Ares, the Greek god of war.
Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37), previously Launch Complex 37 (LC-37), is a launch complex on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Construction began in 1959 and the site was accepted by NASA to support the Saturn I program in 1963. The complex consists of two launch pads. LC-37A has never been used, but LC-37B launched seven uncrewed Saturn I flights and was modified and launched two Saturn IB flights, including the first (uncrewed) test of the Apollo Lunar Module in space. It was deactivated in 1972. In 2001 it was modified as the launch site for Delta IV and used for 35 Delta IV launches ending in 2024.
The Space Test Program (STP) is the primary provider of spaceflight for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) space science and technology community. STP is managed by a group within the Advanced Systems and Development Directorate, a directorate of the Space and Missile Systems Center of the United States Space Force. STP provides spaceflight via the International Space Station (ISS), piggybacks, secondary payloads and dedicated launch services.
Reusable spacecraft are spacecraft capable of repeated launch, atmospheric reentry, and landing or splashdown. This contrasts with expendable spacecraft which are designed to be discarded after use. Agencies operating reusable spacecraft aim to have lower costs and higher flight frequencies.
The Delta IV Heavy was an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It had the highest capacity of any operational launch vehicle in the world after the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 until the Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018, and it was the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation at the time of its retirement in 2024. It was manufactured by United Launch Alliance (ULA) and was first launched in 2004. Delta IV Heavy was the last operating member of the Delta IV family, and its final flight was on 9 April 2024. It is succeeded by the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
A heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLV) is an orbital launch vehicle capable of lifting payloads between 20,000 to 50,000 kg or between 20,000 to 100,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit (LEO). Heavy-lift launch vehicles often carry payloads into higher-energy orbits, such as geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) or heliocentric orbit (HCO). An HLV is between a medium-lift launch vehicle and a super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis I, which took place on 16 November 2022.
Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.
Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle consisting of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur second stage. Replacing ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, the Vulcan Centaur is principally designed to meet the needs of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which supports U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department, but ULA believes it will also be able to price missions low enough to attract commercial launches.
A medium-lift launch vehicle (MLV) is a rocket launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between 2,000 to 20,000 kg by NASA classification or between 5,000 to 20,000 kilograms by Russian classification of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). An MLV is between a small-lift launch vehicle and a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Medium-lift vehicles comprise the majority of orbital launches as of 2024, with both the Soyuz and Falcon 9 having launched several hundred times.
The ULA Delta 4-Heavy is currently the world's largest rocket, providing the nation with reliable, proven, heavy lift capability for our country's national security payloads from both the east and west coasts.
The Falcon Heavy is capable of lifting 140,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, more than any other rocket today.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .| Parent companies |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch vehicles |
| ||||
| Rocket stages | |||||
| Launch facilities |
| ||||
| Key people |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
Thor and Delta rockets | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockets |
|  | ||||||||||||
| Launch sites |
| |||||||||||||
| Components |
| |||||||||||||
| Manufacturers |
| |||||||||||||
| Launches | ||||||||||||||
