Delta 4-Heavy mission report
Boeing's Delta 4-Heavy rocket is revealed
Boeing's 23-story tall Delta 4-Heavy rocket is fully assembled atop Cape Canaveral's pad 37B. The powerful booster is scheduled for launch this fall on a demonstration flight. This collection of images taken by photographer Carleton Bailie includes aerial views from a helicopter and from various vantage points around the pad.
ENTER PHOTO GALLERY [Posted: Aug. 26]
Delta 4-Heavy rocket to take maiden flight in Oct.
A new launch date has been selected for the delayed demonstration flight of Boeing's massive Delta 4-Heavy rocket that will carry a satellite simulator and two tiny nanosats.
FULL STORY [Posted: Aug. 19]
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Delta 4-Heavy exposed
The mobile service tower at Cape Canaveral's pad 37B was rolled away from the newly-erected Boeing Delta 4-Heavy rocket for a brief time December 11. This provided the first clear view of the 170-foot tall rocket standing fully exposed on the launch pad.
ENTER PHOTO GALLERY [Posted: Dec. 14]
Delta 4-Heavy goes vertical
The first Boeing Delta 4-Heavy rocket was erected vertically at pad 37B around 10:30 a.m. December 10, one day after rolling horizontally to the Cape Canaveral complex. See a collection of images documenting the rocket's lift.
ENTER PHOTO GALLERY [Posted: Dec. 10]
Boeing's big booster journeys to the launch pad
Inching along at barely a walking pace, Boeing's first Delta 4-Heavy rocket was carefully driven from an assembly hangar to its Cape Canaveral launch pad December 9 where it will undergo seven months of tests before blasting off on a qualification flight.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 9]
PHOTO GALLERY OF TUESDAY'S ROLLOUT
Heavy-lifting version of Delta 4 to take test flight
In a Cape Canaveral hangar, a rocket of monstrous proportions and power is taking shape. It will be unveiled next month, rolling to the launch pad to prepare for a demonstration flight that will test its knack for lofting hefty cargos into orbit and potentially one day ferrying humans to the space station.
FULL STORY [Posted: Nov. 19]
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'''December 13, 2004'''

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - The first new heavy lift space vehicle in a generation is cleared to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Boeing '''Delta IV Heavy''' has missed launch opportunities three days in a row (starting Friday, December 12) due to minor technical difficulties. It is now scheduled to launch Dec. 20 or 21 from pad SLC-37B.

The '''Delta 4''' was developed as part of the U.S Air Force's ''Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle'' program to reduce costs and improve reliability.  The basic design is a two stage, cryogenic LOx/LH2 rocket.  Strap-on boosters may be added to increase lift capacity.  

Two major obstacles have plagued the project in recent years; a bidding scandal which cost Boeing a large portion of the military satellite launch business for which it was competing, and a downturn in commercial satellite launches in 2001.

The ''Heavy'' variant of the Delta 4 rocket can place 13,100 kg (28,950 Lb) into geostationary transfer orbit, greater than any other current rocket. Two additional first stage cores are used as strap-on boosters for this configuration. Their rated thrust is 2,900,000 N (656,000 lb) each. 

Delta 4's main engine, the RS68, is the most powerful hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine in the world, approximately three times as powerful as the Ariane 5 Vulcain HM60. Its design sacrifices efficiency for increased reliability and lower cost: rated specific impulse is 365s at sea level and 410s in a vacuum. The second stage engine, Pratt and Whitney's RL-10B-2, has a specific impulse of 462s.

The primary market for this launcher will be classified spy satellites for the US intelligence community. Most of these satellites were previously launched on the Titan 4, which has since been retired. The Delta 4 Heavy's published launch cost is $170 million, compared to the Titan 4's $400 million (1999 dollars).

Delta 4 Heavy's maiden launch is a demonstration and will carry a dummy load and two nano-satellites. The main payload, dubbed ''DemoSat'' is a 6020 kg (13271 lb) mass designed to simulate the dynamic and initial properties of a real satellite.  Its design consists of large brass rods, intended to fully burn up on reentry.

The two nano-satellites are part of the US Department of Defense ''Nanosat-2 Program'', and built by students from New Mexico State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.