ORLANDO: One of the most powerful rockets in service is scheduled to carry a classified spy satellite for the U.S. Department of Defense aloft from Florida before dawn Thursday.
United Launch Alliance plans to send the satellite into space at 2:12 a.m. EDT aboard the company’s Delta IV Heavy, a triple-engine launcher that creates a collective 2.2 million pounds of thrust.
That compares to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful of today’s rockets, with 3.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
The ULA mission is to liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Complex 37B. A 20 percent chance of stormy weather that could delay the launch exists, according to a U.S. Space Force forecast. In case of delay, the launch could come early Friday or Saturday.
“This is a large, heavy satellite, and the rocket will be fully loaded with fuel,” said Tony Taliancich, ULA’s director and general manager of launch operations. “That means the rocket will rise off the pad slowly. It looks quite majestic.”
The mission, dubbed NROL-44, will be the 12th launch of a Delta IV Heavy, first used in 2004, Taliancich said. He said the nose cone, or fairing, is the largest available today. The upper stage produces 24,750 pounds of thrust.
“This is a three-burn mission to get to this orbit,” Talianich said, noting that the upper stage engine will fire twice.
