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Watch live as a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 Heavy rocket flies for the final time Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 UTC) on Thursday, March 28. The three-core liquid hydrogen fueled rocket is carrying a top secret payload for the U.S. military's spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Our live coverage from Cape Canaveral, with commentary by Will Robinson-Smith, will begin about 90 minutes prior to launch. It will be the 16th launch for the Delta IV Heavy rocket.

Surveillance satellite launching Thursday atop Delta 4-Heavy rocket CAPE CANAVERAL — One of the largest satellites in the world will launch aboard America’s biggest operational booster Thursday, riding that power to a listening post 22,300 miles above the planet for its clandestine eavesdropping mission, all indications suggest. A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will fly from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 at 1:59 p.m. EDT (1759 GMT). Although the duration of the day’s usable launch window has not been revealed, officials previously said liftoff would occur by 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT). Weather forecasters say there is a risk of...

The clandestine cargo carried into polar orbit Thursday aboard the first California-launched Delta 4-Heavy rocket was a crucial replacement satellite for the nation's surveillance and security network, amateur sky-watchers say.The sophisticated imaging bird follows a long line of Keyhole-type spacecraft that provide ultra-high resolution imagery for the U.S. intelligence community, according to hobbyists who track orbiting satellites with remarkable precision. Ever since the Delta 4-Heavy rocket fired away from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the amateur observers have been hunting for the new satellite to figure out its identity. The conventional wisdom before the launch said...

One cannot overstate the importance of Thursday night's Delta 4-Heavy launch from Cape Canaveral to national security, a mission by the massive rocket that will deploy "the largest satellite in the world" to hear the whispers of evil. Countdown clocks are targeting a liftoff time of 6:10 p.m. EST (2310 GMT) from the Florida spaceport's Complex 37. The evening's available launch opportunity likely extends upwards of four hours. United Launch Alliance's Delta 4-Heavy is America's biggest unmanned rocket currently in service, capable of lofting the largest and heftiest cargos. The mammoth vehicle is created by taking three Common Booster Cores...

SANTA ANA, CA—A former Rockwell and Boeing engineer from Orange County was remanded into custody this morning after a federal judge convicted him of charges of economic espionage and acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China, for whom he stole restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets, including information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket. Dongfan “Greg” Chung, 73, of Orange, Calif., who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defense and space unit was acquired by Boeing in 1996, was found guilty by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who...

MOSCOW, July 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has successfully test-launched a Sineva sea-based ballistic missile, a source in the Defense Ministry confirmed on Tuesday. "The launch was conducted on Monday from a Delta IV class strategic nuclear-powered submarine in service with Russia's Northern Fleet," the source said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia had successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a strategic submarine, but did not specify the type of missile or the name of the submarine. "The target was hit and the pieces of the missile landed in the designated area," the president said at a...

A judge agreed Monday to postpone for 13 months the trial of a Chinese-American engineer charged with stealing military and aerospace trade secrets on behalf of China. Kenneth Miller, the attorney for 72-year-old Dongfan "Greg" Chung, asked for the delay because he is involved in a lengthy trial, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples. The trial was scheduled for April 8, but U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney agreed to delay it until May 5, 2009. The government alleges that Chung stole trade secrets on the space shuttle, C-17 military transport and the Delta IV rocket during his decades of employment...

Nearly three years after the highly complex Delta 4-Heavy rocket flew a test launch to demonstrate its capabilities for hauling hefty cargos to space, the giant booster entered service tonight with a fiery blastoff carrying a national security satellite.

The massive Delta 4-Heavy rocket is poised for its first operational launch Saturday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 8:39 p.m. EST. The vehicle will deploy the final Defense Support Program missile warning satellite into geosynchronous orbit.

Boeing's Delta 4 rocket has launched on its inaugural West Coast mission. The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 11:33 p.m. EST (0333 GMT) carrying a classified national security spy satellite into orbit.

A second attempt at launching the GOES-N weather spacecraft aboard the Delta 4 rocket is underway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today. Liftoff is set to occur at 6:32 p.m. EDT (2232 GMT).

In an unexpected move, a Boeing executive said Wednesday that company plans to reintroduce its Delta 4 vehicle on the commercial market later this year, two years after the company withdrew the vehicle because of weak demand. Dan Collins, vice president of expendable launch systems at Boeing, said during a session of the Satellite 2005 conference in Washington DC that the company would reintroduce the vehicle on the commercial market by the end of the year. Boeing, which originally hoped to attract significant demand for the vehicle commercially when the launch market was much more active, decided in mid-2003 to...

America's new heavy-lift rocket has lifted off on its much-anticipated test flight. The first Delta 4-Heavy rocket roared away from Cape Canaveral's pad 37B at 4:50 p.m. (2150 GMT). Follow the rocket's flight in our live status center.

The Heavy: Triple-sized Delta 4 rocket to debut BY JUSTIN RAY SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: December 7, 2004 After years of development and 366 days standing on the launch pad, Boeing's behemoth Delta 4-Heavy rocket flies its maiden mission Friday to showcase its proficiency and character in hauling hefty cargos to space. Although the demonstration flight lacks a real satellite payload -- fitted instead with an instrumented dummy craft -- the rocket's launch carries enormous importance for upcoming U.S. national security spacecraft looking for rides to orbit after retirement of the costly Titan 4 vehicle. What's more, a successful debut is...

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Space Systems Co. will team with Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector to compete for full-scale development of NASA's orbital space plane. The orbital space plane program is planned as a next-generation crew rescue and transport system for the international space station. The space plane, which may include multiple vehicles, will enable a larger permanent crew to occupy the orbiting research facility, increasing science and research capabilities in space. Details of the agreement between Lockheed and Northrop, announced Monday, will be worked out in the next 90 days, Northrop Grumman spokesman Brooks McKinney said. If any of the...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Boeing's Delta 4 rocket successfully delivered its first satellite into Earth orbit on Wednesday. Lifting off at 5:39 p.m. EST (2239 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the 20-story rocket began its mission to loft the Eutelsat W5 spacecraft into Earth orbit. The mission, accomplished 37 minutes later, was greeted with cheers and applause by company officials who had waited seven years to launch the rocket that is their contribution to the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. "This is a new day and I think that we, Boeing, have proved a lot...