ULA launched a classified spy satellite on a Delta IV Heavy rocket on September 24th 2022.
Launch operator ULA launched a classified spy satellite on a Delta IV Heavy rocket on September 24th 2022.
Launch operator ULA launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite on a Delta IV Heavy rocket on September 24th 2022 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California USA.
The classified satellite NROL-91 is the Delta IV’s final mission from the West-Coast. The launch vehicle last flew in April 2021 when it orbited NROL-82.
About four minutes into flight, the outer boosters of the three-core Delta 4 Heavy separated. The second stage separated about two minutes later.
At the request of the NRO, ULA ended the webcast nearly seven minutes into the flight after the nose fairing was jettisoned.
NROL-91 was the 10th mission Delta IV Heavy launched for the NRO. The vehicle has flown 43 missions overall and 14 in the Heavy configuration.
Launch Company United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was founded in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies that provided spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. U.S. government launch customers included the Department of Defense and NASA, as well as other organizations. With ULA, Lockheed and Boeing held a monopoly on military launches for more than a decade, until the US Air Force awarded a GPS satellite contract to SpaceX in 2016.
Launch Company United Launch Alliance (ULA) has 3,400 employees working at sites across the USA. Program management, engineering, test, and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located in Decatur in Alabama and Harlingen in Texas. ULA’s launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.