Update: The launch of the Delta IV Heavy rocket has been postponed indefinitely. According to A tweet from United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced Thursday that a problem with a gaseous nitrogen pipeline has forced the team to scrap the mission and choose a new date. The report states:
“The team is continuing to fix the pipeline and need more time to build confidence in the system. We will continue to work with our customer to confirm our next release attempt and will provide a new date upon resolution.”
Due to this issue, the release has been moved to Friday (March 29) at 1:37 PM EDT. Here is FFull report Published by United Publishing Alliance:
“The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy missile systems carrying the NROL-70 mission for the National Intelligence Service were purged due to a problem with a nitrogen pipeline supplying pneumatic pressure. The team initiated safety measures. The vehicle. The release is now Friday, March 29 at 1:37 p.m. EDT. planned.”
United Launch Alliance's (ULA) last Delta rocket is set to launch tomorrow (March 29) at 1:37pm ET (5:37pm GMT) on a classified mission by the US National Intelligence Office (NRO) – you can watch. It lives here.
The launch will end a 64-year run for the Delta rocket fleet, which is designed to lift large payloads into space. The Delta IV Heavy rocket, launched since 2004, will carry one last secret cargo from Space Launch Complex-37 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
According to sister site LiveScience, ULA did not disclose the nature of the payload that will explode in space, but it will contain a sophisticated satellite. Space.com. The NRO is the agency that designs and operates the U.S. Department of Defense's surveillance satellites, and it rarely makes public the nature and scope of its spying systems.
All we know about the current mission is its name, NROL-70, and when it will launch. Watch live on the ULA WebcastEmbedded below.
“The NROL-70 mission will strengthen the NRO's ability to provide timely intelligence information to national decision makers, warfighters, and intelligence analysts to protect the nation's vital interests and support humanitarian efforts around the world,” ULA's representatives wrote. A Objective text.
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It is uncertain whether the Delta rocket will actually take off at the newly announced time, as subsurface winds and cumulus clouds have created unfavorable conditions that have already caused delays. The 45th Weather Service predicts a 30% chance of the weather clearing well enough for a launch on Thursday and a 60% chance of favorable conditions on Friday (March 29). Now space travel.
Ground winds are of particular concern because of the risk of the rocket bouncing back against the launch tower, ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said during a press conference.
“It depends on the angle of the wind,” Bruno said. “We can launch in a short amount of time on time. So, if the wind calms down, even for a few minutes…we'll launch by that chance.”
The Delta IV Heavy is the only rocket that has not reached the end of its career, and ULA plans to retire it with the Atlas V. The Space Launch Agency makes way for its new Vulcan Centaur rocket. A controversial first assignment – Sending Astrobotic's ill-fated Peregrine Lunar Lander to the Moon – Launched in early January. Despite the successful launch, the Peregrine spacecraft There was a fuel leak Almost immediately, reduces its work and forced it to fall back into Earth's atmosphere on January 19.
