#slc37

[for-all-mankind]

NROL-37 is set to launch at 1:51pm EDT. ULA captured some gorgeous shots of the Delta IV Heavy rocket earlier this morning, June 9. Webcast of the launch begins at 1:31pm here.

[for-all-mankind]

Two United Launch Alliance rockets in the same shot - Atlas V launching Orbital ATK’s OA-6 mission to the International Space Station backdrops the NROL-37 Delta IV Heavy at SLC-37. Delta IV is slated for a June 3rd launch of a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

P/c: Ben Cooper/ULA

[for-all-mankind]

The Delta IV M+ 5,4 rocket, seen yesterday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s SLC-37, prior to the first launch attempt. 




The 5,4 configuration is the second most powerful version of the Delta IV booster, featuring four GEM-60 Solid Rocket Motors strapped to the first stage of the Common Booster Core. Each SRM gives 197,500 pounds of force and burns for 1 minute, 31 seconds. For the WGS-7 flight, the Delta IV CBC boasts the new RS-68A engine, which has only flown one previous flight in 2012. The RS-68A is replacing the RS-68 engine that the Delta IV debuted with in 2002. This upgrade gives the Delta IV CBC a total thrust of 705,000 pounds of force at sea level, 42,000 more than the RS-68, which offered 663,000. All Delta IV flights will now use this upgraded engine. In the images above, the RS-68A engine cannot be seen, as it is located underneath the launch mount the vehicle is attached to. Photo credit: For-All-Mankind