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The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) was an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It had the highest capacity of any operational launch vehicle in the world after the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 until the Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018, and it was the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation at the time of its retirement in 2024.
Delta IV Heavy launching. The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) combines a 5 m (16 ft) diameter DCSS and payload fairing with two additional CBCs. These are strap-on boosters which are separated earlier in the flight than the center CBC. As of 2007, a longer 5 meter diameter composite fairing was standard on the Delta IV Heavy, [26] with an aluminum ...
An RS-68 was part of each Delta IV Common Booster Core. The largest of the launch vehicles, the Delta IV Heavy, used three CBCs mounted together. [8] The engine produced 758,000 pounds-force (3,370 kN) in a vacuum and 663,000 pounds-force (2,950 kN) at sea level. The engine's mass was 14,560 pounds (6,600 kg).
The Delta IV originally had two main versions which allowed the family to cover a range of payload sizes and masses: the Medium (which had four configurations) and Heavy. [2] Since September 2019, only the Heavy remained active, with payloads that would previously fly on Medium moving to either the existing Atlas V or the forthcoming Vulcan .
Its first stage is powered by four main engines, each generating up to 29,000 kilograms (64,000 pounds) of thrust, plus a fifth which will be used for attitude control, which provides an additional 13,600 kilograms (30,000 pounds). At liftoff, these engines will generate a total of 130,000 kilograms (290,000 pounds) of thrust.
Beyond 240 seconds, Delta IV Heavy should see center booster separation and main engine start, according to the ULA graphic. 9: Launch + 270 seconds , most of central and East Coast of Florida ...
The Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle used three Common Booster Cores (CBCs) each powered by a Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68A engine, a Delta Cryogenic Second Stage 5 m (DCSS) powered by an RL10, and a 5 m payload fairing. Delta IV CBCs and DCSSs were integrated horizontally before being transported to the launchpad. [32]
The first launch of a Common Booster Core was the maiden flight of the Delta IV, which was launched from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on 20 November 2002. [ 5 ] The first flight of the Delta IV Heavy, featuring three Common Booster Cores, was conducted on 21 December 2004.