United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy makes final launch in Florida
CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE BASE, Flor. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Tuesday maked the end of an era in space flight.
The 16th and final mission of the United Launch Aliance's (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida.
The massive rocket, with it's 2.2 million pounds of thrust, is carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office Launch (NROL) satellite into orbit for the mission being called NROL-70.
This launch brings an end to the ULA's 64-year history with their Delta Heavy-lift rockets.
It's being retired to make way for the company's new Vulcan Centar Rocket, which carried out its first mission in January of this year.
Along with the Delta IV Heavy, the ULA is also retiring another iconic workhorse: The Atlas V rocket after it completes its already scheduled missions that will keep it flying through 2029.
