SPACE

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy sent a spy satellite to orbit early Thursday

Jamie Groh
Florida Today

A new national security satellite was delivered to orbit early Thursday following the liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

At 5:18 a.m. EDT, the 235-foot rocket powered by three nearly identical orange-and-white boosters produced 2.1 million pounds of thrust to arc away from Launch Complex 37 on an easterly trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean.

Thursday's liftoff was the second attempt after the initial try was scrubbed a day earlier. The company cited "an issue with a ground systems pneumatic valve" at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as reason for the scrub.

What was the mission?

The mission, called NROL-68, carried a classified intelligence-gathering payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, one of the "big five" agencies responsible for space-based data gathering and monitoring the nation's fleet of spy satellites.

"These launches place critical capabilities into orbit for our nation and our allies in what are dynamic times for the space community," Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said in a release.

Liftoff of the NROL-68 mission marked the next to last time the rocket would ever fly.

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ULA plans to use the vehicle just once more before retiring it in favor of the company's next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket.

All told, ULA has launched the Delta IV in its Heavy configuration 15 times since beginning service in 2004. Ten missions flew from LC-37 in Florida while the others were launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The final launch Delta IV Heavy launch is set to take place from the Cape sometime next year.

After the rocket's retirement, ULA is expected to terminate its lease of Launch Complex 37, which was originally built to support the Apollo program's Saturn I and IB rockets. ULA plans to return control of the pad back to the Space Force.

When is the next launch?

United Launch Alliance launched its first launch of the year, a three-core Delta IV Heavy rocket with an intelligence gathering satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket launched from launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:18 a.m. EDT, Thursday, June 22. This is a six minute 45 second time exposure with the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier in the foreground.

At the Cape's nearby Launch Complex 40, meanwhile, SpaceX is set to launch another Falcon 9 rocket on a southeasterly trajectory with more Starlink internet satellites no earlier than Friday, June 23.

SpaceX has not yet confirmed a launch date or time for that mission with the Eastern Range; only federal filings point to teams pushing forward with an attempt between 9 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. EDT. It's also expected to include a drone ship landing in the Atlantic Ocean.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Contact Jamie Groh at JGroh@floridatoday.com and follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.

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Launch Friday, June 23

  • Company / Agency: Internal SpaceX mission
  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
  • Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
  • Launch Window: 9:00 a.m. EDT to 12:12 p.m. EDT
  • Trajectory: Southeast
  • Weather: TBD
  • Landing: Drone ship
  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
  • About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and land the Falcon 9 first-stage booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.