Posted on 11/20/2017 4:02:49 PM PST by Elderberry
The second-to-last Delta II rocket lit up the night over California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base in the early hours on Saturday, taking to the skies with the JPSS-1 Weather Satellite for NASA and NOAA, set to become America’s primary meteorological spacecraft in Polar Orbit. Checking off its 99th consecutive success and 154th overall mission, Delta II successfully placed the 2,540-Kilogram satellite into orbit 57 minutes and 30 seconds after its nighttime blastoff.
Delta II, counted on for many years by numerous missions to Earth orbit and beyond, is approaching its final flight assignment in 2018 with NASA’s ICESat-II that will close out a career of nearly three decades for the former workhorse of the American space program. Debuting in 1989, Delta II became the most-flown U.S. launch vehicle, lifting government and commercial satellites into Earth orbit and deploying flagship missions for NASA including the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Kepler Exoplanet telescope.
The venerable Delta II kept up a remarkable record of 151 successful missions out of 153 launches, encountering one partial failure and one outright failure when a crack in one of the rocket’s boosters caused a spectacular explosion of Delta 241 in 1997 during the rocket’s initial climb-out from Cape Canaveral. Saturday’s launch was the 53rd Delta II launch for NASA and the 723rd of a Thor-based launch vehicle finding its roots in the very beginnings of America’s space program.
(Excerpt) Read more at spaceflight101.com ...
That’s a crap ad site, bummer.
Didn’t read every bit of this, but I did skim to see if they mentioned what would be replacing the Delta II.
Didn’t see it. Did anyone else see it.
Is this another case of us retiring one asset before we have a replacement?
SpaceX Falcon, among other options.
Is that large enough? I don’t know the particulars.
That’s what Ad Blockers are for.
Falcon 9 will lift 3 times as much to orbit. The Falcon Heavy will lift ten times as much to orbit.
I wonder if the satellite they put up is pre-programmed to make sure temperature readings rise? Inquiring minds want to know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.