Posted on 08/13/2007 5:07:35 PM PDT by KevinDavis
WASHINGTON--NASA intends to conduct its final Delta 2 launch around the end of the decade and then shift more of its launch traffic in that payload class to the Atlas 5 or Delta 4 launch vehicles, the U.S. space agency's chief rocket buyer said in an Aug. 8 interview.
Bill Wrobel, NASA assistant associate administrator for launch services, said the decision to phase out use of the Delta 2 came down to money. Delta 2 launch prices, already on the rise, are expected to jump sharply once the U.S. Air Force abandons use of the reliable workhorse as soon as next year so it can make greater use of the Atlas 5 and Delta 4, which the service helped develop under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
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