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68-820: Delta II was an expendable launch system , originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas , and sometimes known as the Thorad Delta 1. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family, derived directly from the Delta 3000 , and entered service in 1989. There were two main variants, the Delta 6000 and Delta 7000, with the latter also having "Light" and "Heavy" subvariants. During its career, Delta II flew several notable payloads, including 24 Global Positioning System (GPS) Block II satellites, several dozen NASA payloads, and 60 Iridium communication satellites. The rocket flew its final mission, ICESat-2 , on 15 September 2018, earning

136-400: A small-lift rocket , and Ariane 6 , a medium -to- heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup , a joint venture between Airbus and Safran . European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market Ariane 6 launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At

204-544: A yo-yo de-spin mechanism to slow the rotation before payload release. The stage would also contain an S-band transmitter, batteries, and a sequencer to command the stage events. Two third-stage options were available, both consisting of a single solid rocket motor. The most common by far was the Star 48, flying on over 70 missions. The Star 48, also referred to as the Payload Assist Module-Delta (PAM-D),

272-666: A Delta II and the final launch from SLC-17A at Cape Canaveral occurred in 2009. The GRAIL Launch in 2011 marked the last Delta II Heavy launch and the last from Florida. The final five launches would all be from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California . On 16 July 2012, NASA selected the Delta II to support the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1 – NOAA-20) missions. This marked

340-438: A body thought to be 4.6 m (15 ft) long and 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) wide, estimates based on the maximal Delta II payload. With the radar antenna extended, USA-193 was about the size of a basketball court (~30 × 15 m). The satellite entered orbit, but lost contact with the ground within hours. In late January 2008, reports from anonymous U.S. officials indicated a U.S. spy satellite, later confirmed as USA-193,

408-522: A core diameter of 1.25 m, with two liquid propellant stages, a single thrust chambered first stage and a two-thrust chambered, step-throttled second stage, the SLV has a lift off mass exceeding 26 tons. The first stage consists of a lengthened up-rated Shahab-3C . According to the technical documentation presented in the annual meeting of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs , it is

476-629: A derivative of the Thor ballistic missile as were all Delta rockets until the Delta IV . The RS-27 used on the 6000-series Delta II produced 915 kN (206,000 lbf) of thrust, while the upgraded RS-27A used by the 7000-series produced 1,054 kN (237,000 lbf). The stage was 26.1 meters (86 ft) long and 2.44 meters (8.0 ft) wide, had a mass of 101.8 tonnes (224,000 lb) when fueled, and burned for 260 seconds. The main engine, which could not throttle, provided pitch and yaw control for

544-428: A four-digit system to generate its technical names: For example, a Delta 7925H-10L used an RS-27A, nine GEM 46 boosters, a PAM third stage, and a lengthened 10 ft (3.0 m) diameter fairing. A Delta 6320–9.5 is a two-stage vehicle with an RS-27 first-stage engine, three Castor 4A boosters, a 9.5 ft (2.9 m) diameter fairing, and no third stage. Earth-orbiting Extra-planetary The last Delta II launch

612-430: A mass of 950 kg (2,090 lb) when empty, and 6,954 kg (15,331 lb) when fully fueled. For low Earth orbit missions, Delta II was not equipped with a third stage. Payloads bound for higher energy orbits such as GTO or to reach Earth escape velocity for trans-Mars injection or other destinations beyond Earth used an HTPB solid propellant third stage, situated inside the fairing during launch. This stage

680-411: A peak launch rate of 12 launches in a single year, although its infrastructure was capable of supporting up to 15 launches per year. While all completed Delta II rockets were launched, many flight-qualified spare parts remained in inventory. These spare parts were assembled, alongside a few structural simulators, to create a nearly complete Delta II for exhibition in its 7320-10C configuration. The rocket

748-607: A string of two failures and one partial failure, along with the development of the much more powerful Delta IV , led to the cancellation of the Delta III program. The upgraded boosters would still find use on the Delta II, leading to the Delta II Heavy. On 28 March 2003, the Air Force Space Command began the process of deactivating the Delta II launch facilities and infrastructure at Cape Canaveral once

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816-618: A toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields". General James Cartwright confirmed that the United States Navy was preparing to launch an SM-3 missile to destroy the satellite, at an altitude of 247 km (153 mi), shortly before it entered Earth's atmosphere. On 21 February 2008, at 03:26 UTC an SM-3 missile was fired from the Ticonderoga -class missile cruiser USS  Lake Erie  (CG-70) and intercepted USA-193 about 247 km (153 mi) above

884-462: A two-stage rocket with all liquid propellant engines. The first stage is capable of carrying the payload to the maximum altitude of 68 kilometres. The Israel Space Agency is one of only seven countries that both build their own satellites and launch their own launchers. The Shavit is a space launch vehicle capable of sending payload into low Earth orbit . The Shavit launcher has been used to send every Ofeq satellite to date. The development of

952-663: Is a launch vehicle that improved reliability while reducing costs by making significant improvements to the H-II, and the M-V was the world's largest solid-fuel launch vehicle at the time. In November 2003, JAXA's first launch after its inauguration, H-IIA No. 6, failed, but all other H-IIA launches were successful, and as of February 2024, the H-IIA had successfully launched 47 of its 48 launches. JAXA plans to end H-IIA operations with H-IIA Flight No. 50 and retire it by March 2025. JAXA operated

1020-632: Is also an ELV customer, having designed the Titan, Atlas, and Delta families. The Atlas V from the 1994 Evolved ELV (EELV) program remains in active service, operated by the United Launch Alliance . The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) competition has selected two EELV successors, the expendable Vulcan Centaur and partially reusable Falcon 9 , to provide assured access to space. Iran has developed an expendable satellite launch vehicle named Safir SLV . Measuring 22 m in height with

1088-546: Is displayed vertically at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex , and bears its popular "shark teeth" livery on its fairing, which was painted on past Delta II rockets for the GPS launches. The first stage of the Delta II was propelled by a Rocketdyne RS-27 or RS-27A main engine burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen . This stage was technically referred to as the "Extra-Extended Long Tank Thor",

1156-584: Is located at the Kennedy Space Center rocket garden . The only person on record ever hit by space debris was hit by a piece of a Delta II rocket. Lottie Williams was exercising in a park in Tulsa on 22 January 1997 when she was hit in the shoulder by a 15-centimeter (6 in) piece of blackened metallic material. U.S. Space Command confirmed that a used Delta II rocket from the April 1996 launch of

1224-503: Is very experienced in development, assembling, testing and operating system for use in space. USA-193 USA-193 , also known as NRO Launch 21 ( NROL-21 or simply L-21 ), was a United States military reconnaissance satellite ( radar imaging ) launched on 14 December 2006. It was the first launch conducted by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Owned by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO),

1292-763: The Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana , the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles. The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency , while the land itself belongs to and is managed by CNES ,

1360-813: The H-IIB , an upgraded version of the H-IIA, from September 2009 to May 2020 and successfully launched the H-II Transfer Vehicle six times. This cargo spacecraft was responsible for resupplying the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station . To be able to launch smaller mission on JAXA developed a new solid-fueled rocket, the Epsilon as a replacement to the retired M-V . The maiden flight successfully happened in 2013. So far,

1428-483: The Midcourse Space Experiment had crashed into the atmosphere 30 minutes earlier. The object tapped her on the shoulder and fell off harmlessly onto the ground. Williams collected the item and NASA tests later showed that the fragment was consistent with the materials of the rocket, and Nicholas Johnson, the agency's chief scientist for orbital debris, believes that she was indeed hit by a piece of

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1496-473: The Pacific Ocean . The satellite was traveling with a velocity of 28,000 km/h (17,000 mph), or 7.8 km/s (4.8 mi/s). The velocity of the impact was about 35,000 km/h (22,000 mph). The United States Department of Defense (DoD) expressed a "high degree of confidence" that the fuel tank was hit and destroyed. The satellite's remnants were expected to burn up over the course of

1564-614: The Redstone missile to the Delta , Atlas , Titan and Saturn rocket families, have been expendable. As its flagship crewed exploration replacement for the partially reusable Space Shuttle , NASA's newest ELV, the Space Launch System flew successfully in November 2022 after delays of more than six years. It is planned to serve in a major role on crewed exploration programs going forward. The United States Air Force

1632-553: The Space Liability Convention , the United States vowed to pay for any damage or destruction caused by their failed satellite. Planning for the destruction of USA-193 with a missile reportedly began on 4 January 2008, with President Bush approving the plan on 12 February 2008, at an expected cost of US$ 40 million to US$ 60 million. The task force had as its goal to "rupture the fuel tank to dissipate

1700-723: The Space Shuttle , which would be responsible for all government and commercial launches. Production of Delta, Atlas-Centaur , and Titan 34D had ended. The Challenger disaster of 1986 and the subsequent halt of Shuttle operations changed this policy, and President Ronald Reagan announced in December 1986 that the Space Shuttle would no longer launch commercial payloads, and NASA would seek to purchase launches on expendable vehicles for missions that did not require crew or Shuttle support. McDonnell Douglas, at that time

1768-530: The 1990s. Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi , in 1970, using ISAS' L-4S rocket. Prior to the merger, ISAS used small Mu rocket family of solid-fueled launch vehicles, while NASDA developed larger liquid-fueled launchers. In the beginning, NASDA used licensed American models. The first model of liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed domestically in Japan was the H-II , introduced in 1994. NASDA developed

1836-546: The Air Force had shot down a satellite in 1985 . Although the U.S. had objected to the earlier Chinese test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon , U.S. officials said there was "no parallel" with that test. The Chinese test destroyed a target in a high, stable orbit, leaving a large amount of space debris in orbit, while the destruction of USA-193 in a much lower orbit would create debris that would likely deorbit within weeks. The Russian government claimed that this exercise

1904-624: The Castor 4A thanks to a lengthening of 3 meters (9.8 ft). In addition, the GEM boosters also boasted a lower dry mass than the Castors due to the former's carbon composite construction. In 2003, the Delta II Heavy debuted, featuring larger GEM 46 motors from the abandoned Delta III program. These new motors allowed the vehicle to carry over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of extra payload into low-Earth orbit. Only Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17B

1972-505: The Delta II featured fixed nozzles, meaning the first stage was solely responsible for vehicle control during the initial portions of the flight. The second stage of Delta II was the Delta-K , powered by a restartable (up to six restarts) Aerojet AJ10 -118K engine burning hypergolic Aerozine-50 and N 2 O 4 . These propellants are highly toxic and corrosive, and once loaded the launch had to occur within approximately 37 days or

2040-589: The French national space agency. During the 1960s and 1970s, India initiated its own launch vehicle program in alignment with its geopolitical and economic considerations. In the 1960s–1970s, the country India started with a sounding rocket in the 1960s and 1970s and advanced its research to deliver the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and the more advanced Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), complete with operational supporting infrastructure by

2108-517: The H-II with two goals in mind: to be able to launch satellites using only its own technology, such as the ISAS, and to dramatically improve its launch capability over previous licensed models. To achieve these two goals, a staged combustion cycle was adopted for the first stage engine, the LE-7 . The combination of the liquid hydrogen two-stage combustion cycle first stage engine and solid rocket boosters

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2176-584: The Shavit began in 1983 and its operational capabilities were proven on three successful launches of the Ofek satellites on September 19, 1988; April 3, 1990; and April 5, 1995. The Shavit launchers allows low-cost and high-reliability launch of micro/mini satellites to a low Earth orbit . The Shavit launcher is developed by Malam factory, one of four factories in the IAI Electronics Group. The factory

2244-436: The U.S. and China, and was viewed by some to be part of a wider "arms race" in space involving the U.S., China, and Russia. It was the first launch by United Launch Alliance since it was formed in December 2006, and the first Delta II launch since ULA acquisition. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports indicate that the satellite contained the hazardous materials hydrazine and beryllium . Though there

2312-477: The U.S. military. While most of this debris re-entered the Earth's atmosphere within a few months, a few pieces lasted slightly longer because they were thrown into higher orbits. The final piece of USA-193 debris (COSPAR 2006-057GH, SATCAT 35425) re-entered on 28 October 2009. The launch of at least one other satellite was postponed to avoid space debris from USA-193. An Atlas V launch hot line recording indicated

2380-508: The U.S. was symbolically fined US$ 400 for littering). No weapon existed in 1978 to bring down Kosmos 954, and a Soviet anti-satellite weapon (part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov program), the first of its kind, was declared operational only ten days before Skylab re-entered the atmosphere, and was not capable of directing the space station's descent. Before the destruction of USA-193, Pentagon officials repeatedly denied that it

2448-402: The aft skirt, the latter of which also contained a gyroscope for vehicle stability. For additional thrust during launch, the Delta II used solid boosters. For the 6000-series, Delta II used Castor 4A boosters (sometimes stylized as "Castor IVA"), while the 7000-series used GEM 40 Graphite-Epoxy Motors manufactured by Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Like its predecessors, the Delta II 6000-series

2516-417: The approximately 453 kg (999 lb) of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel, which could pose a danger to people on Earth , before it entered into Earth's atmosphere". On 14 February 2008, U.S. officials announced the plan to destroy USA-193 before atmospheric reentry , stating that the intention was "saving or reducing injury to human life". They said that if the hydrazine tank fell to Earth, it "could spread

2584-416: The burnout and jettison of the first six. The Castor 4A boosters were an improvement over the Castor 4 motors flown on the earlier Delta 3000 rocket, replacing the propellant with more modern HTPB -based propellant and providing an 11% increase in performance. The GEM 40 boosters on the 7000 series further improved Delta II's performance by each featuring 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb) of extra propellant than

2652-484: The contract in 1999, beating out Lockheed Martin with proposals for innovative electro-optics and radar. But after cost overruns, delays, and parts failures, NRO sent the contract to Lockheed, which built USA-193 around the Boeing radar design. Lockheed Martin and Boeing both supported the launch, the first in the joint effort known as the United Launch Alliance . USA-193 weighed about 2,300 kg (5,100 lb), with

2720-451: The craft's precise function and purpose were classified . On 21 February 2008, it was destroyed as a result of Operation Burnt Frost . USA-193 was part of the NRO's Future Imagery Architecture (FIA), which was begun in 1997 to produce a fleet of inexpensive reconnaissance satellites, but has become the agency's most spectacular failure. USA-193 was initially developed by Boeing , which won

2788-410: The final purchase of Delta II. OCO-2 was launched on 2 July 2014, Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) was launched on 31 January 2015, and JPSS-1 was launched on 18 November 2017. All three of these launches were placed into orbit from SLC-2 at Vandenberg. The Delta II family launched 155 times. Its only unsuccessful launches were Koreasat 1 in 1995, and GPS IIR-1 in 1997. The Koreasat 1 launch

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2856-620: The hydrazine tank burning up in the upper atmosphere. Two examples of uncontrolled atmospheric re-entries causing (or almost causing) damage are the 1978 re-entry of Kosmos 954 , a Soviet satellite, which landed in Canada and spread dangerous amounts of nuclear fuel from its onboard reactor over large tracts of land, and Skylab 's 1979 re-entry, which rattled windows and dropped small pieces of debris onto buildings in Esperance , Western Australia (no significant monetary damage resulted, but

2924-492: The last of the second-generation GPS satellites were launched. However, in 2008, it instead announced that it would transfer all the Delta II facilities and infrastructure to NASA to support the launch of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) in 2011. On 14 December 2006, with the launch of USA-193 , was the first launch of the Delta II operated by United Launch Alliance . The last GPS launch aboard

2992-459: The launch of three Earth-observing satellites. The first Delta II launch occurred on 14 February 1989, with a Delta 6925 boosting the first GPS Block II satellite ( USA-35 ) from Launch Complex 17A (SLC-17A) at Cape Canaveral into a 20,000 km (12,000 mi) high medium Earth orbit . The first Delta II 7000-series flew on 26 November 1990, replacing the RS-27 engine of the 6000-series with

3060-469: The launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row, with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997. In the late 1990s, Delta II was developed further into the unsuccessful Delta III , which was in turn developed into the more capable and successful Delta IV , though the latter shares little heritage with the original Thor and Delta rockets. In the early 1980s, all United States expendable launch vehicles were planned to be phased out in favor of

3128-423: The manufacturer of the Delta family, signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force in 1987 to provide seven Delta II. These were intended to launch a series of Global Positioning System (GPS) Block II satellites, which had previously been manifested for the Space Shuttle. The Air Force exercised additional contract options in 1988, expanding this order to 20 vehicles, and NASA purchased its first Delta II in 1990 for

3196-622: The more powerful RS-27A engine. Additionally, the steel-cased Castor 4A solid boosters of the 6000 series were replaced with the composite-cased GEM 40 . All further Delta II launches except three were of this upgraded configuration, and the 6000-series was retired in 1992 with the last launch being on July 24. McDonnell Douglas began Delta III development in the mid-1990s as increasing satellite mass required more powerful launch vehicles. Delta III, with its liquid hydrogen second stage and more powerful GEM 46 boosters, could bring twice as much mass as Delta II to geostationary transfer orbit , but

3264-746: The most famous of them being the R-7 , commonly known as the Soyuz rocket that is capable of launching about 7.5 tons into low Earth orbit (LEO). The Proton rocket (or UR-500K) has a lift capacity of over 20 tons to LEO. Smaller rockets include Rokot and other Stations. Several governmental agencies of the United States purchase ELV launches. NASA is a major customer with the Commercial Resupply Services and Commercial Crew Development programs, also launching scientific spacecraft. The vast majority of launch vehicles for its missions, from

3332-407: The next 40 days, with most of the satellite's mass re-entering the atmosphere within 48 hours of the missile strike. U.S. officials denied that the action was intended to prevent sensitive technology falling into foreign hands and also denied that it was a response to the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test . This was not the first time the United States shot down one of its own satellites;

3400-443: The previous five-year period. However, U.S. officials maintained that the large quantity of hydrazine on board made USA-193 a special case. According to General Kevin P. Chilton , when President Bush was briefed on the situation, the danger that shooting down the satellite would be perceived as an ASAT test was brought up, and President Bush made his decision based on the dangers of an uncontrolled reentry. Other observers dismiss

3468-468: The rocket has flown six times with one launch failure. In January 2017, JAXA attempted and failed to put a miniature satellite into orbit atop one of its SS520 series rockets. A second attempt on 2 February 2018 was successful, putting a four kilogram CubeSat into Earth orbit. The rocket, known as the SS-520-5, is the world's smallest orbital launcher. Roscosmos uses a family of several launch rockets,

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3536-528: The rocket. Delta rockets have been involved in multiple fragmentation events as they were routinely left in orbit with enough fuel to explode. A large amount of current "space junk" is Delta rocket debris. [REDACTED] Media related to Delta II at Wikimedia Commons Expendable launch system Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider . It operates two launch vehicles : Vega C ,

3604-431: The stage would have to be refurbished or replaced. This stage also contained a combined inertial platform and guidance system that controlled all flight events. The Delta-K consisted of stainless steel tanks and a lightweight aluminum structure. The tanks were pressurized with helium gas, and the stage featured nitrogen thrusters for roll control during burns and for complete attitude control during coasts. The stage had

3672-422: The threat of the hydrazine, suggesting that the effect of the cloud, when diluted over a large area, would likely be mild: "The hydrazine tank is a 1-meter sphere containing about 400 liters of hydrazine. The stated hazard area is about 2 hectares, something like 1/10,000,000,000 of the area under the orbit. The potential for actual harm is unbelievably small". Other analyses, such as those cited by Yousaf Butt, show

3740-400: The vehicle during ascent using hydraulic gimballing. In addition, two Rocketdyne LR-101-NA-11 vernier engines provided roll control for the first stage during ascent and continued firing after the main engine shut down to stabilize the vehicle before stage separation. The two first-stage tanks were constructed from aluminum isogrid panels, providing high strength at a lower mass. Nitrogen gas

3808-506: The vehicle's flight termination system. No one was injured, and the launch pad itself was not seriously impacted, though several cars were destroyed and a few buildings were damaged. In 2007, Delta II completed its 75th consecutive successful launch, surpassing the 74 consecutive successful launches of the Ariane 4 . With the launch of ICESat-2 in 2018, Delta II reached 100 consecutive successful launches. During its career, Delta II achieved

3876-451: Was spin-stabilized and depended on the second stage for proper orientation prior to stage separation, but was sometimes equipped with a hydrazine nutation control system to maintain proper spin axis. The third stage would be spun up using small rocket motors and then released by the second stage to perform its burn. The third stage also included a yo-weight system to induce tumbling in the stage after payload separation to prevent recontact, or

3944-436: Was a partial failure caused by one booster not separating from the first stage, which resulted in the satellite being placed in a lower-than-intended orbit. By using reserve fuel, it was able to achieve its proper geosynchronous orbit and operated for 10 years. The GPS IIR-1 was a total loss as the Delta II exploded 13 seconds after launch. The explosion occurred when a damaged solid rocket booster casing ruptured and triggered

4012-580: Was a test of the U.S. missile defense program. The defense ministry of Russia accused the U.S. of using hydrazine as a cover for the test of an ASAT. It also noted that extraordinary measures had never before been needed to deal with the many spacecraft that had fallen to Earth. Indeed, The New York Times had paraphrased Gordon Johndroe , spokesman for the United States National Security Council , as stating that 328 objects had deorbited (controlled and uncontrolled) in

4080-500: Was capable of flying the Heavy configuration, as it was previously reinforced to handle the Delta III. The Castor motor nozzles were angled 11° from vertical to aim their thrust into the vehicle's center of gravity, while the GEM motors had a slightly lower 10° tilt. On the nine-engine configuration, the three air-lit motors featured longer nozzles to allow the boosters to perform better in the upper atmosphere. All solid motors that flew on

4148-537: Was carried over to its successor, the H-IIA and H-IIB and became the basic configuration of Japan's liquid fuel launch vehicles for 30 years, from 1994 to 2024. In 2003, JAXA was formed by merging Japan's three space agencies to streamline Japan's space program, and JAXA took over operations of the H-IIA liquid-fueled launch vehicle, the M-V solid-fuel launch vehicle, and several observation rockets from each agency. The H-IIA

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4216-503: Was in a deteriorating orbit and was expected to crash into Earth within weeks. This came as no surprise to amateur satellite watchers , who had been predicting the deorbit of the satellite for some time. The satellite malfunctioned shortly after deployment and was intentionally destroyed 14 months later on 21 February 2008 by a modified SM-3 missile fired from the U.S. Navy warship USS Lake Erie (CG-70) , stationed west of Hawaii . The event highlighted growing distrust between

4284-527: Was meant to bolster the U.S. missile defense program. Six days after USA-193's destruction, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, "the mission's success shows that U.S. plans for a missile-defense system are realistic" though in the same statement it was confirmed that the weapons and systems used for this mission will not retain their ASAT capability, and will be reconfigured back to their original purpose as tactical missiles. The destruction of USA-193 created 174 pieces of orbital debris that were cataloged by

4352-400: Was only offered in nine-booster configurations. However, with the arrival of the 7000-series, variants with three and four boosters were introduced to allow Delta II to fly small payloads for cheaper. When three or four boosters were used, all ignited on the ground at launch, while models that used nine boosters would ignite six on the ground, then the remaining three would ignite in flight after

4420-526: Was some speculation that the satellite might have a "nuclear" power core, i.e. a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), the FEMA report indicates otherwise. On 29 January 2008, an Associated Press story quoted U.S. Air Force General Gene Renuart as saying that contingency plans were being made, since intact pieces of the satellite "might re-enter into the North American area ". In respecting

4488-672: Was the ICESat-2 satellite in September 2018. In 2008, ULA indicated that it had "around half a dozen" unsold Delta II rockets on hand, but ULA CEO Tory Bruno stated in October 2017 that there are no complete, unbooked Delta II rockets left in the ULA inventory; and though there are leftover Delta II parts, there are not enough to build another launch vehicle. The final Delta II rocket, made of these leftover parts alongside some simulated parts,

4556-524: Was the more powerful of the two options, producing an average thrust of 66.4 kN (14,900 lb f ) during its 87.1-second burn. The stage would end up flying primarily on the more powerful Delta variants and never flew on a three-booster configuration. The other third-stage option was the Star 37FM. This stage flew four times, and only on three- and four-booster configurations of Delta. The Star 37FM produced 45.8 kN (10,300 lb f ) of thrust during its 66.4-second burn. The Delta II family used

4624-489: Was used to pressurize the tanks. These tanks were stretched a total of 148 inches (3.8 m) from those of the Extended Long Tank Thor that flew on older Delta rockets, providing more propellant. Between the two tanks was the "center body", where first-stage avionics and communications equipment were housed. The solid rocket booster attachment points were located on the outside of the liquid oxygen tank and

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