ULA’s Delta-4 Heavy successfully launches NRO spy satellite
ULA today successfully used its most powerful rocket, the Delta-4 Heavy, to place a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) surveillance satellite into orbit.
ULA now only has three Delta-4 Heavy’s in its inventory. After those launch the rocket will be retired, to be replaced by the most powerful versions of its new Vulcan rocket.
The leaders in the 2021 launch race:
11 SpaceX
8 China
7 Russia
2 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 16 to 8 in the national rankings.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
ULA today successfully used its most powerful rocket, the Delta-4 Heavy, to place a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) surveillance satellite into orbit.
ULA now only has three Delta-4 Heavy’s in its inventory. After those launch the rocket will be retired, to be replaced by the most powerful versions of its new Vulcan rocket.
The leaders in the 2021 launch race:
11 SpaceX
8 China
7 Russia
2 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 16 to 8 in the national rankings.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
For the record, this was ULA’s first launch of the year.
mkent: You are correct. In updating my database I accidently entered this ULA launch in the Northrop Grumman column, and then assumed the “2” was for ULA. I have fixed it all.
It is amazing that we are near the end of April, and only now are both ULA and Europe doing their first launches.
India too.
mkent: No, India completed its one successful launch two months ago, at the end of February. And while this is a low launch pace, it is not much different than their average pace, as they even their best years the most launches they managed was seven.
ULA however until 2017 used to routinely launch about a dozen times a year, while until 2019 Arianespace managed for years to achieve just under that number. Last year’s low numbers could be assigned to COVID, but that’s not an excuse so far this year. Both companies are far down in launches this year, though of course it is early and things could change.
Bob: You’re right! I completely forgot about the Amazonia launch, maybe because the primary payload was for Brazil and not India itself. I stand corrected.
In ULA’s case, they’re waiting for payloads. They have several Atlas Vs ready to go waiting for their payload. They still hope to get ten launches off this year, but again, that will be dependent on the payloads being ready. Now that the Delta IV Heavy went off without a hitch, I suspect the only launch threatened by a delayed launch vehicle will be the inaugural Vulcan launch.