Delta IV

The Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) with the GOES-N satellite, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Delta IV was a rocket made to launch satellites. It had many different types including Medium, Medium+, and Heavy for many different types of satellites orbiting at many different altitudes above the Earth. The Delta IV had launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was no longer used after it's 45 mission.

Launches

The Delta IV was launched 32 times. The first flight was on November 20, 2002, and it launched the Eutelsat W5 communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

Types

The Delta IV rocket comes in many different types meant to launch different sizes and kinds of satellites.

The different kinds of Delta IV rockets.

Delta IV Medium

The least powerful kind of the Delta IV rocket was the Medium type. It has 1 main Common Booster Core (CBC) as the first stage of the rocket, using the RS-68 engine, and the second stage is like from the Delta III rocket, but it has been changed. It uses a 4-meter payload fairing to cover the satellite during the launch of the rocket. This kind was launched 3 times.

The Delta IV Heavy with NROL-49, a top secret spy satellite, lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Delta IV Medium+ (4,2)

The Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) was like the Medium type, but it has two GEM-60 solid rocket boosters strapped onto the CBC. This kind has launched 13 times, and is the kind of Delta IV rocket that was launched the most times.

Delta IV Medium+ (5,2)

The Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) was like the (4,2), but the second stage and fairing has a larger diameter. This kind was launched 2 times.

Delta IV Medium+ (5,4)

The Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) was like the (5,2), but it has two more GEM-60 solid rocket boosters. This kind was launched 5 times.

Delta IV Heavy

The Delta IV Heavy was the biggest kind of Delta IV rockets. It has two CBC strapped onto it like solid rocket boosters. This kind had launched 9 times, and was the most powerful rocket currently doing launches (the most powerful rocket ever is the Saturn V). It flew the last Delta IV mission on April 9, 2024 with NROL-70, a top secret spy satellite, and launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station SLC-37B.

Delta IV Media

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  Delta-4H with DSP-23 early warning satellite: Defense Support Program Flight 23 takes off into the night Nov. 10 aboard Boeing's new Delta IV Heavy Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. Flight 23 marked the end of a 36-year era of DSP satellites. The program will be succeeded by the Space-Based Infrared System program.

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  Deltarocketevolution

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  Delta IV 4-meter Cryogenic Second Stage

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  First Delta IV Heavy with three CBCs prior to launch

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  GOES-N launch on a Medium+ (4,2)

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  A unique aerial view of NROL-22 launch from SLC-6

Related pages

• Delta II
• Atlas V

Other websites

• Delta IV info page from ULA
• Delta IV User's Guide Archived 2014-07-10 at the Wayback Machine