Delta II

Delta II
A Delta II rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carrying the Dawn spacecraft.
A Delta II rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carrying the Dawn spacecraft.
Function Launch vehicle
Manufacturer United Launch Alliance (Boeing IDS)
Country of origin United States
Cost per launch (1987) US$36.7 million
Size
Height 38.2 - 39 m (125.3 - 127 ft)
Diameter 2.44 m (8 ft)
Mass 151,700 - 231,870 kg
(334,300 - 511,180 lb)
Stages 2 or 3
Capacity
Payload to
LEO
2,700 - 6,100 kg
(5,960 - 13,440 lb)
Payload to
GTO
900 - 2,170 kg
(1,980 - 4,790 lb)
Payload to
HCO
1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
Launch history
Status Active
Launch sites Cape Canaveral SLC-17
Vandenberg AFB SLC-2W
Total launches 147
Delta 6000: 17
Delta 7000: 125
Delta 7000H: 5
Successes 145
Delta 6000: 17
Delta 7000: 123
Delta 7000H: 5
Failures 1 (Delta 7000)
Partial failures 1 (Delta 7000)
Maiden flight Delta 6000: 14 February 1989
Delta 7000: 26 November 1990
Delta 7000H: 8 July 2003
Last flight Delta 6000: 24 July 1992
Boosters (6000 Series) - Castor 4A
№ boosters 3, 4 or 9
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust 478.3 kN (107,530 lbf)
Specific impulse 266 sec
Burn time 56 seconds
Fuel Solid
Boosters (7000 Series) - GEM 40
No boosters 3, 4 or 9
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust 492.9 kN (110,800 lbf)
Specific impulse 274 sec
Burn time 64 seconds
Fuel solid
Boosters (7000 Heavy) - GEM 46
No boosters 9
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 628.3 kN (141,250 lbf)
Specific impulse 278 sec
Burn time 75 seconds
Fuel solid
First stage - Thor/Delta XLT-C
Engines 1 RS-27A[1]
Thrust 1,054.2 kN (237,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 302 sec
Burn time 265 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX
Second stage - Delta K
Engines 1 AJ-10
Thrust 43.6 kN (9,800 lbf)
Specific impulse 319 sec
Burn time 431 seconds
Fuel Dinitrogen tetroxide/Aerozine
Third stage - PAM-D (optional)
Engines 1 Star 48B
Thrust 66.0 kN (14,837 lbf)
Specific impulse 286 sec
Burn time 87 seconds
Fuel Solid

Delta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989. Delta II vehicles include the retired Delta 6000, the active Delta 7000, and two 7000 variants (light and heavy).

Delta II rockets were later built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems until Delta rocket production became the responsibility of United Launch Alliance (ULA) on December 1, 2006.[2][3] ULA now markets Delta II to U.S. government customers, and Boeing Launch Services (BLS) markets Delta II to commercial companies.[4]

Contents

History

All United States expendable launch vehicles were to be phased out for the Space Shuttle, but in 1986 the Challenger accident restarted Delta development. The Delta II was specifically designed to accommodate the GPS Block II series of satellites. Delta IIs have successfully launched 125 projects (through August 2007), including several NASA missions to Mars:

Delta II manufacturing, assembly and integration currently take place in Decatur, Alabama; Harlingen, Texas; San Diego, California; and Denver, Colorado.[4]

Vehicle description

Deltas are expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), which means they are used only once. Each Delta II launch vehicle consists of:

Naming system

The Delta II family is more technically named by a four-digit system:[6]

For example, a Delta 7925 has the later first stage, nine GEM boosters, and a PAM third stage. A Delta 7320 is a two-stage vehicle with three boosters.

Three payload fairings are available. The original aluminum fairing, seen above, is 9.5 feet in diameter. A 10-foot fairing is made of composite, and can be distinguished by its tapering front and rear. A lengthened 10-foot fairing is used for the largest payloads.

Launch description

Launch vehicle build-up 
A Delta II launch vehicle is assembled vertically on the launch pad. Assembly starts by hoisting the first stage into position. The solid rocket boosters are then hoisted into position and mated with the first stage. Launch vehicle build-up then continues with the second stage being hoisted atop the first stage.[7]
Fueling 
It takes approximately 20 minutes to load the first stage with 10,000 US gallons (37,900 L) of fuel.[8]

Delta II launches

The Delta II system has been used for 146 launches. On September 18, 2007, Delta II completed its 75th consecutive successful launch.[9] This is a record for modern launch vehicles.[10] It is the most reliable launch vehicle currently in service, behind the (now retired) Tsyklon 2.[11] Eight launches took place in 2007.

However, the Delta II system does not have a perfect success record. One mission, the launch of Koreasat-1, was a partial failure in which the satellite payload was able to compensate when the launch system placed the vehicle in an incorrect orbit.[12]

Another failure, this time complete, occurred on January 17, 1997, when a Delta II 7925 carrying the first GPS Block IIR satellite, GPS IIR-1, exploded only 13 seconds after liftoff, raining flaming debris all over Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. No one was injured, and the launchpad itself was not seriously damaged, though several cars were destroyed and a few buildings were damaged.[13] It was later determined that a "17-foot crack" in the rocket booster had caused the failure.[14]

Notable payloads

Between May 1997 and November 1998 Delta II vehicles placed 55 Iridium satellites into orbit.[15]

Retirement of system

Comparison of standard vs. heavy Delta II
Delta rocket evolution

An article published by the Wall Street Journal speculates about the fate of the Delta II launch system after U.S. Air Force discontinues its use of the Delta II.[16] Thomas Young, who was director of Goddard Space Flight Center from 1980 to 1982, is quoted as saying, "It's definitely an item people are quite worried about."

The final payload currently scheduled for Delta II is a NASA moon mission in 2011.[17] ULA has indicated it has "around half a dozen" unsold Delta II rockets on hand.[18] A spokesperson indicated ULA will change some aspects of the Delta II system once the current Medium Launch Vehicle 3 contract with the Air Force ends and requirements imposed by the contract are lifted. The Air Force contract required that Delta II be kept ready to launch within 40 days of call up, which led ULA to maintain two launch pads at Cape Canaveral. ULA indicated it would not continue to operate two launch pads.[18]

In August 2009 the NASA assistant associate administrator for launch services indicated NASA might purchase additional Delta II launches beyond those it currently has planned.[19] Seven Delta II flights are planned through 2011. Five additional Delta II vehicles have been built but remain unassigned to planned flights.

Future applications

There are no future applications of the Stage 2 System.

Comparable rockets

References

  1. http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm
  2. United Launch Alliance Transaction completed
  3. Delta rocket history, Boeing. Accessed 14 June 2008.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "United Launch Alliance Restructures Delta II Program for Long Term Viability". ULA. January 29, 2008. http://www.ulalaunch.com/news_deltaIIProgramDirector.html. 
  5. Dr. Marc D. Rayman (2007-07-15). "DAWN Journal". JPL NASA. http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal_7_15_07.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-06. 
  6. Forsyth, Kevin S. (2007-08-10). "Vehicle Description and Designations". History of the Delta Launch Vehicle. http://kevinforsyth.net/delta/vehicle.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-15. 
  7. "Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report". NASA. June 6, 2007. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2007/elvstatus-20070606.html. 
  8. "Swift Launch Pad Activities". 2004-11-18. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/launch/pad.html. 
  9. "DigitalGlobe Successfully Launches Worldview-1". DigitalGlobe. http://media.digitalglobe.com/index.php?s=press_release_popup&item=135. 
  10. Ray, Justin. "Mission Status Center (Delta 326)". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d326/status.html. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  11. Space Launch Report - Active Launch Vehicle Reliability Statistics
  12. Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "Koreasat 1, 2 (Mugungwha 1, 2) / Europe*Star B". http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/koreasat-1.htm. 
  13. "Unmanned rocket explodes after liftoff". CNN.com. 1997-01-17. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9701/17/rocket.explosion/index.html. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  14. The Deadly Aftermath of a Rocket Explosion Seconds After Launch
  15. "Boeing Delta II to Launch New Additions to Iridium Constellation". Boeing. http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2002/q1/nr_020205s.html. 
  16. "Delta II's Fate Worries Nonmilitary Users". WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118039764439516631.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. 
  17. "Launch team packs rockets' timetable". Florida Today. 2008-05-25. http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/BUSINESS/805250328/1007/news02. Retrieved 2008-06-09. "United Launch Alliance piled up a half-dozen new payloads for Atlas and Delta rockets during the first half of the year, including a NASA moon mission that will extend Delta 2 launch operations." 
  18. 18.0 18.1 Berger, Brian (2008-06-30). "Delta 2 Rockets to Remain Competitive Until 2015". Space News. http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080630-busmon-delta-2.html. 
  19. Stephen Clark (August 29, 2009). "NASA looking to solve medium-lift conundrum". http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0908/29mediumlift/. 

External links