After 15 years, United Launch Alliance is preparing for one of its final Delta IV Heavy launches this week with a national security mission.
Delta IV Heavy’s penultimate launch is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:29 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The heavy-lift rocket will carry the NROL-68 spacecraft to orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.
After a launch readiness review on Monday, ULA said they are ready for Wednesday’s launch.
The countdown gets underway Tuesday evening.
Delta IV Heavy is a rare and powerful bird to see launch on Florida’s Space Coast. The rocket has three side-by-side booster cores, each with Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A engines providing a combined 2.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Four states contribute engineering, design, testing and parts for the rocket, including Colorado, California, Alabama and Florida.
This launch will mark the rocket’s 15th and second to last as ULA prepares to launch its new Vulcan Centaur rocket later this year.
Launch weather officers with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 75% chance of favorable weather for liftoff early Wednesday.
The Southeast has been experiencing frequent thunderstorms and severe weather, even tornadoes. An incoming weather pattern of showers and thunderstorms might mean ULA needs to thread the needle to launch on Wednesday. Overnight conditions should be more favorable. Still, sustained winds will likely remain a concern.
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The primary weather concerns are anvil clouds, cumulus clouds and ground winds.
If you are lucky enough to be on Florida’s Space Coast for the launch, you’ll hear the Delta IV Heavy roar before you see it. As the rocket accelerates, depending on the cloud cover, people beyond the immediate launch area can see the rocket as it speeds away from Earth.
In Florida, those on the east coast within an hour of the launch site in all directions will be able to see the rocket one to two minutes after liftoff.
The bright rocket barreling through the sky should be visible about five minutes after liftoff from Miami all the way to Jacksonville.