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Delta IV Heavy

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Variant of the Delta IV space launch vehicle

Delta IV Heavy
Size

Delta IV Heavy launches fromVandenberg Space Force Base
Function	Heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	United Launch Alliance
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$350 million^[1] NRO: US$440 million
Height	70.7 m (232 ft)
Diameter	5.1 m (17 ft)
Width	15.3 m (50 ft)
Mass	733,000 kg (1,616,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Delta
Comparable	Long March 5 Falcon Heavy Proton-M
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37 Vandenberg,SLC-6
Total launches	16
Success(es)	15
Partial failure	1
First flight	December 21, 2004 (USA-181)
Last flight	April 9, 2024 (NROL-70)
Carries passengers or cargo	EFT-1 NRO classified payloads Kennen Orion Parker Solar Probe

Boosters –CBC
No. boosters	2
Height	40.8 m (134 ft)
Empty mass	26,760 kg (59,000 lb)
Gross mass	226,400 kg (499,100 lb)
Propellant mass	200,400 kg (441,800 lb)^[2]
Powered by	1 × RS-68
Maximum thrust	3,140 kN (710,000 lb_f)
Total thrust	6,280 kN (1,410,000 lb_f)
Specific impulse	SL: 360 s (3.5 km/s) vac: 412 s (4.04 km/s)
Burn time	246 seconds
Propellant	LH₂ /LOX
First stage –CBC
Height	40.8 m (134 ft)
Empty mass	26,760 kg (59,000 lb)
Gross mass	226,400 kg (499,100 lb)
Propellant mass	200,400 kg (441,800 lb)^[2]
Powered by	1 × RS-68
Maximum thrust	3,140 kN (710,000 lb_f)
Specific impulse	SL: 360 s (3.5 km/s) vac: 412 s (4.04 km/s)
Burn time	334 seconds
Propellant	LH₂ /LOX
Second stage –DCSS
Height	13.7 m (45 ft)
Empty mass	3,490 kg (7,690 lb)
Gross mass	30,710 kg (67,700 lb)
Propellant mass	27,220 kg (60,010 lb)
Powered by	1 × RL10-B-2
Maximum thrust	110 kN (25,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	465.5 s (4.565 km/s)
Burn time	1,125 seconds
Propellant	LH₂ /LOX

[edit on Wikidata]

TheDelta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) was anexpendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest member of theDelta IV family. Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, it was the most capable operational launch vehicle until theFalcon Heavy's debut in 2018. At the time of its retirement in 2024, it ranked third among active rockets in payload capacity.^[3]^[4]^[5] Developed byBoeing and later manufactured byUnited Launch Alliance (ULA), it first flew in 2004. The Delta IV Heavy was retired after its 16th and final launch on 9 April 2024 and was succeeded by ULA'sVulcan Centaur rocket, which can offer similar heavy-lift capabilities at a lower cost with a single-core and six solid rocket boosters.^[6]^[7]

The vehicle consisted of threeCommon Booster Cores (CBCs), each powered by anRS-68 engine. Two served as strap-on boosters attached to a central core. During ascent, all three engines ignited at liftoff, with the central engine throttling down partway through flight to conserve propellant before throttling up again after booster separation.^[8]^[9]

A distinctive feature of Delta IV Heavy launches was the hydrogen-fueled ignition sequence, which often produced a large fireball that scorched the booster’s exterior surface.^[10]

History

[edit]

Delta IV Heavy forExploration Flight Test-1

The Delta IV program was initiated by Boeing under the U.S. Air Force'sEvolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program and was transferred to ULA in 2006. The Delta IV Heavy was developed as the most powerful configuration of the family, complementing the smaller Delta IV Medium.^[11]

Its maiden flight on December 21, 2004 carried aboilerplate payload and ended in partial failure when cavitation in liquid-oxygen lines caused premature shutdown of the engines, leaving the test article in a lower-than-intended orbit.^[12] The rocket achieved its first fully successful operational flight in 2007 with the launch of theDSP-23 satellite, and subsequently deployed severalreconnaissance satellites for theNational Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

The rocket was also used for two notable missions for NASA,Exploration Flight Test-1, the first uncrewed test of theOrion spacecraft in 2014,^[13] and theParker Solar Probe launch in 2018, which required an additionalStar 48BV third stage to achieve its ellipticalheliocentric orbit.^[14]

Production of Delta IV Heavy hardware ended in May 2023,^[15] with its last mission flying for the NRO on April 9, 2024.^[16]

Capabilities

[edit]

At liftoff, the rocket had a mass of approximately 733,000 kilograms (1,616,000 lb) and generated about 9,420 kilonewtons (2,120,000 lb_f) of thrust.^[17]

The Delta IV Heavy had the following payload capacities:^[18]^[19]

Orbit	Payload capacity
LEO^[a]	28,370 kg (62,550 lb)
LEO-ISS^[b]	25,980 kg (57,280 lb)
Polar^[c]	23,560 kg (51,940 lb)
MEO^[d]	8,450 kg (18,630 lb)
GTO^[e]	14,210 kg (31,330 lb)
GEO^[f]	6,580 kg (14,510 lb)
TLI^[g]	11,290 kg (24,890 lb)
TMI^[h]	8,000 kg (18,000 lb)

Notes

^200 km (120 mi) circular orbit at 28.7° inclination
^407 km (253 mi) circular orbit at 51.6° inclination
^200 km (120 mi) circular orbit at 90° inclination
^20,368 km (12,656 mi) circular orbit at 55° inclination
^185 km (115 mi) perigee and 35,786 km (22,236 mi) apogee orbit at 27° inclination
^35,786 km (22,236 mi) circular orbit at 0° inclination
^Characteristic energy (C₃) = −2 km²/sec²
^C₃ = +20 km²/sec²

A 20.5-meter-long (67.2 ft) carbon composite bisector payload faring was standard. The Delta IV with the extended fairing was over 62 meters (203 ft) tall.

An aluminum isogrid trisector fairing, derived from aTitan IV fairing, was also available as an option.^[20] The trisector fairing was first used on theDSP-23 flight.^[21]

Launch history

[edit]

This section istranscluded fromList of Delta IV Heavy launches.(edit |history)


Flight	Date	Payload^[22]	Mass	Launch site	Outcome^[22]
1	December 21, 2004	DemoSat,Sparkie /3CS-1 andRalphie /3CS-2	≈6,000 kg (13,000 lb)	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Partial failure^[a]
2	November 11, 2007	DSP-23	5,250 kg (11,570 lb)	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
3	January 18, 2009	Orion 6 / Mentor 4 (USA-202 /NROL-26)	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
4	November 21, 2010	Orion 7 / Mentor 5 (USA-223 /NROL-32)	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
5	January 20, 2011	KH-11 Kennen 15 (USA-224 /NROL-49)	<17,000 kg (37,000 lb)	Vandenberg,SLC-6	Success
6	June 29, 2012	Orion 8 / Mentor 6 (USA-237 /NROL-15)	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
7	August 26, 2013	KH-11 Kennen 16 (USA-245 /NROL-65)	<17,000 kg (37,000 lb)	Vandenberg,SLC-6	Success
8	December 5, 2014	Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1)	21,000 kg (46,000 lb)^[23]^[b]	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
9	June 11, 2016	Orion 9 / Mentor 7 (USA-268 /NROL-37)	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
10	August 12, 2018	Parker Solar Probe^[c]	685 kg (1,510 lb)	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
11	January 19, 2019	NROL-71	Classified	Vandenberg,SLC-6	Success
12	December 11, 2020	Orion 10 / Mentor 8 (USA-268/NROL-44)^[24]^[25]	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
13	April 26, 2021	KH-11 Kennen 17 (NROL-82)	Classified	Vandenberg,SLC-6	Success
14	September 24, 2022	KH-11 Kennen 18 (NROL-91)	Classified	Vandenberg,SLC-6	Success
15	June 22, 2023	Orion 11 / Mentor 9 (NROL-68)^[26]	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success
16	April 9, 2024	Orion 12 / Mentor 10 (NROL-70)^[27]	Classified	Cape Canaveral,SLC-37B	Success

^Common Booster Cores underperformed, lower orbit than planned
^The officially reported mass of 21,000 kg includes the Launch Abort System (LAS) which did not reach orbit, but excludes the residual mass of the upper stage, whichdid reach orbit.
^plusStar 48BV upper stage (approx 2,100 kg)

Comparable vehicles

[edit]

Further information:Heavy-lift launch vehicle

Current:

Long March 5 (geostationary transfer orbit)
Long March 5B (low Earth orbit)
Long March 7A (geostationary transfer orbit)
Falcon Heavy
Proton-M
Vulcan Centaur
Angara A5
Ariane 6
New Glenn

Retired or cancelled:

Ariane 5 (retired)
Atlas V Heavy (proposed, never developed)
Saturn IB (retired)
Titan III (retired)
Titan IV (retired)

References

[edit]

^"ULA CEO Tory Bruno".twitter.com. RetrievedFebruary 12, 2018.Delta IV Heavy goes for about US$350M. That's current and future, after the retirement of both Delta IV Medium and Delta II.
^^a ^b"Delta IV Heavy".Spaceflight 101. RetrievedJuly 26, 2014.
^Clark, Stephen (March 27, 2024)."The Delta IV Heavy, a rocket whose time has come and gone, will fly once more".ars Technica. RetrievedNovember 9, 2024.
^Chang, Kenneth (February 6, 2018)."Falcon Heavy, SpaceX's Big New Rocket, Succeeds in Its First Test Launch".The New York Times. RetrievedFebruary 6, 2018.The Falcon Heavy is capable of lifting 140,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, more than any other rocket today.
^"Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. RetrievedJuly 26, 2014.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.
^Erwin, Sandra (August 24, 2020)."ULA to launch Delta 4 Heavy for its 12th mission, four more to go before rocket is retired". SpaceNews. RetrievedAugust 29, 2020.
^"Delta IV Heavy - NROL-70".Next Spaceflight. February 9, 2024. RetrievedFebruary 10, 2024.
^"Delta IV Payload Planner's Guide, June 2013"(PDF). United Launch Alliance. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 10, 2014. RetrievedJuly 26, 2014.
^"Delta 4-Heavy likely heading for geosynchronous orbit with top secret payload". Spaceflight Now. August 26, 2020. RetrievedAugust 27, 2020.
^Berger, Eric (January 21, 2019)."This massive rocket creates a fireball as it launches, and that's by design".Ars Technica. RetrievedApril 13, 2023.
^Howell, Elizabeth (April 20, 2018)."Delta IV Heavy: Powerful Launch Vehicle". Space.com. RetrievedJuly 21, 2018.
^"Delta 4-Heavy investigation identifies rocket's problem". Spaceflight Now. March 16, 2005. RetrievedJuly 26, 2014.
^"Second Stage Ignites as First Stage Falls Away". December 5, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^"Delta IV Parker Solar Probe".ulalaunch.com. RetrievedDecember 11, 2020.
^"ULA's Delta rocket assembly line falls silent".Spaceflight Now.
^Robert Z. Pearlman (April 9, 2024)."'Heavy' history: ULA launches final Delta rocket after 64 years (video, photos)".Space.com. RetrievedApril 11, 2024.
^"Live coverage: Launch of Delta 4-Heavy rocket set for early Saturday". Spaceflight Now. August 29, 2020. RetrievedAugust 29, 2020.
^"Vulcan Centaur Cutaway Poster"(PDF). ULA.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 22, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2019.
^Ray, Justin (December 7, 2004)."The Heavy: Triple-sized Delta 4 rocket to debut". Spaceflight Now. Archived fromthe original on December 11, 2004. RetrievedMay 13, 2014.
^"Delta IV Payload Planners Guide"(PDF). United Launch Alliance. September 2007. pp. 1–7. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 22, 2011.
^US Air Force - EELV Fact Sheets Archived April 27, 2014, at theWayback Machine
^^a ^bKrebs, Gunter."Delta-4". Gunter's Space Page. RetrievedMarch 15, 2018.
^"NASA Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 PRESS KIT"(PDF). NASA. December 2014. p. 12. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^"Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. October 27, 2020. RetrievedOctober 31, 2020.
^"Launch Mission Execution Forecast". 45th Weather Squadron - Patrick Air Force Base. October 30, 2020. RetrievedOctober 31, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^Clark, Stephen (June 22, 2023)."Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifts off with NRO spy satellite". Spaceflight Now. RetrievedJune 27, 2023.
^Graham, William (April 9, 2024)."Delta IV Heavy launches on final mission".NASASpaceFlight.com. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2024.

External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDelta IV Heavy.

United Launch Alliance

Parent companies

Launch vehicles

In service	Atlas V Vulcan Centaur
Retired	Delta II Delta IV Medium Delta IV Heavy

Rocket stages

Launch facilities

Current	Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3E
Former	Cape Canaveral:SLC-17A,SLC-17B,SLC-37 Vandenberg:SLC-2W,SLC-6

Key people

Tory Bruno (CEO)

Thor and Delta rockets

Rockets

Thor

Delta

Alphabetical	Delta A Delta B Delta C Delta D Delta E Delta F Delta G Delta J Delta L Delta M Delta N
Numerical	Delta 0100 Delta 1000 Delta 2000 Delta 3000 Delta 4000 Delta 5000 Delta 6000 Delta 7000 Delta 8000 Delta 9000
Modern	Delta II Delta III Delta IV Delta IV Heavy

Export

Launch sites

Canaveral	(S)LC-17 LC-18B SLC-37B
Johnston	LE-1 LE-2
Tanegashima	Osaki
Vandenberg	SLC-1 SLC-2 SLC-3 SLC-6 SLC-10
Bases	Bardney Breighton Caistor Carnaby Catfoss Coleby Grange Driffield Feltwell Folkingham Full Sutton Harrington Hemswell Ludford Magna Melton Mowbray Mepal North Luffenham North Pickenham Polebrook Shepherds Grove Tuddenham

Components

Boosters

First stages

Common Booster Core

Upper Stages

Delta	Delta-A Delta-D Delta-E Delta-F Delta-K Delta-P DCSS
Other	Able Ablestar Agena Altair Burner FW-4D IABS PAM-D Star UM-129

Engines

Manufacturers

Rocket	Douglas McDonnell Douglas Boeing United Launch Alliance
Engines	Aerojet Alliant Rocketdyne Thiokol TRW

Launches

v t e Parker Solar Probe
Instruments	FIELDS IS☉IS SWEAP WISPR
Namesake	Eugene Parker
Related	Sun Solar corona Solar wind Alfvén surface Magnetic switchback Helmet streamer Delta IV Heavy Star 48
People	Anthony W. Case

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Eris^† Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 6C 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C New Glenn Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB Spectrum^† SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2E
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Blue Whale 1 Ceres-2 Cyclone-4M Deca Eclipse Epsilon S Gravity-2 HANBIT-NANO Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kinetica 2 2H 3 KSLV-III Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 Neutron New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf RFA One SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIA H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 2-1v Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^† 2
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C New Glenn Pegasus XL SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I Eclipse Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 RS1^† Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted and production stopped ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage