Published 19:15 IST, August 29th 2020
Delta 4 Heavy NRO Launch 44: Launch time and live stream details
The United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 Heavy launch mission will be carrying NROL44 for the National Reconnaissance Office. Read on to get launch details.
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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.
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 launch of a United Launch Alliance #DeltaIVHeavy carrying the #NROL44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office was scrubbed today due to an unexpected condition during terminal count at approximately three seconds before liftoff.
— ULA (@ulalaunch) August 29, 2020
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.
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.
Image credits: SpaceFlight Insider
19:14 IST, August 29th 2020