Delta 4 Heavy NRO Launch 44: Launch time and live stream details

The United Launch Alliance has been preparing to launch its ambitious expendable heavy-lift launch rocket Delta IV Heavy for the National Reconnaissance Office and carry the surveillance satellite to the Earth’s orbit. The launch mission, which was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, had to be rescheduled for Saturday.

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ULA Delta 4 launch time

The ULA Delta 4 Heavy was set to take off at 2:04 AM from NASA's Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral in Florida, however, it was moved to 3:28 AM after issues with the temperature reading on the launcher. The countdown had stopped functioning just a few seconds before the liftoff. ULA confirmed on Twitter that the NRO Launch 44 launch has been scrubbed, however, it is yet to announce a new launch date for the mission.

The Delta 4 Heavy was first launched in the year 2004 and the upcoming NRO Launch 44 mission will be its 12th launch. However, the first mission which carried the boilerplate payload was an unsuccessful one as it failed to reach the desired orbit.

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ULA Delta 4 launch live stream

The ULA Delta 4 Heavy launch mission was available for live streaming on the official YouTube channel of United Launch Alliance. While the mission has been cancelled, you can still watch the pre-launch event in the video embedded below. You can head back to ULA's official YouTube channel to catch the live event during the launch.

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The ULA Delta 4 Heavy launch mission called 'NRO Launch 44' will be the first Delta 4 to go on a mission after the retirement of Delta 4 Medium last year, on August 22, 2019. The Delta 4 will soon be replaced by the Vulcan in the future. However, before that happens, it is also worth noting that Delta 4 still has a number of missions that have been scheduled to take place until 2024.

After SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, the Delta 4 Heavy is the highest-capacity rocket that is still in use. It was developed by the United Launch Alliance.

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Image credits: SpaceFlight Insider