Delta IV Heavy's final fiery liftoff sends huge rocket into retirement from Cape Canaveral
Firing up its three core boosters and RS-68A engines, the last 235-foot tall Delta IV Heavy rumbled into the record books Tuesday afternoon on a historic farewell flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
The mighty rocket bolted skyward on the NROL-70 mission, delivering a secretive payload for the National Reconnaissance Office to orbit after the 12:53 p.m. EDT liftoff from United Launch Alliance's Launch Complex 37.
This "blaze of glory" launch marked the Delta IV Heavy's 16th and final mission. The rockets logged flights from Florida's Space Coast and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
"A lot of you know that the Delta IV Heavy is, of course, the most metal of all rockets — setting itself on fire before it blasts into space. But I also want to talk about its tremendous contribution to our nation, to exploration, to national security," ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said minutes after liftoff during the company launch broadcast.
"The Delta IV Heavy still today flies missions that no other rocket can fly. Soon, Vulcan will pick up that mantle. And we're going to retire this venerable rocket that has made so much important work for our country," Bruno said.
"And I want to thank everyone who has been involved with the Delta IV Heavy. We have many employees who were here for the very first Delta IV launch who are still here now for the last Delta IV launch, to send off this great vehicle into its well-earned retirement," he said.
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Most Delta IV Heavy payloads were national security missions like NROL-70, but the triple-core rocket launched two NASA missions: the Orion crew capsule orbital test flight in 2014 and the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft in 2018.
Now, ULA is transitioning its future Florida and California missions to its next-generation Vulcan rocket, which will replace the Delta and Atlas rocket families. The first Vulcan took flight in January from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine moon lander on its inaugural certification mission.
By contrast, Tuesday's launch marked the 389th and final Delta launch.
ULA's Atlas V rocket still has numerous scheduled flights before retirement. Chief among them: the May 6 inaugural crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner capsule from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This mission will send NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore up to the International Space Station.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Delta IV Heavy's final fiery liftoff from Cape sends rocket into retirement
