Delta IV Heavy NROL-70 Mission Profile 

This was an epic rocket family for sure, it is going to be an emotional event. But every story has a beginning and an end, Delta IV will go down in history as a remarkable rocket variant. We will miss the fireball at the start, those moments made this rocket so unique 😊 Go NROL-70! 🤘

Sad😢

Goodbye but what a legacy

The Japanese have one of its cousins, pritty sure the h2 rocket is related to it

We're sad to see the Delta IV family go, but every great story comes to an end. Let's hope Vulcan will carry the torch and will follow Delta's legacy footsteps. Having said that we also have doubts, seeing Blue Origin's intentions to purchase ULA is a tad worrying to be honest. We'll see... Until then go NROL-70, go Delta IV Heavy! 😊

03/28/24 1340 EDT

Nope, it just deflects the engine exhaust away from the vehicle.

Okay I was thinking it might act like a compressor of pressure / atmosphere I know it's just a concrete box @@fs10inator

@@lorenzoo90it wouldnt really make a difference if it did that because the exhaust gasses would have already left the engine at the point.

ULA decided to retire their Atlas V and Delta launch vehicles and replace them the Vulcan, which debuted earlier this year. Much easier for them to have one launch vehicle family than two. They still have some Atlas Vs in their inventory but the Atlas will be retired at some point too.

Thursday 28th March at 13:40 EDT.

Thanks!@@ross077

This isn't a falcon 9 it is a Delta IV, a disposable launch vehicle.

This rocket's exhaust is just water vapor

Also known as super scary 'green house water' to the climate change nut jobs like dan. @@Shadow_The_Pad

@@Shadow_The_Pad1. Incorrect. Delta IV uses ablative coating inside their nozzles for cooling purposes. I am not sure about the details, but it's definetly not water vapor and I sure as hell would rather not breathe it in. 2. Environmental damage is more than just engine exhaust. It's also noise pollution, spent stages dropped into the ocean, production and handling facililties, the list goes on. I absolutely agree with @danhove that any and all environmental damage must be compensated accordingly, and not only for rocket launches btw. In fact, there is literally no way around it: Either they pay, we pay, or future generations pay. Pick one.

@@Shadow_The_PadOh and btw, water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas as well. But H2O decays much faster than CO2 (about ten days vs. 50-200 years) so it's not as bad. But I bet ULA does not use green hydrogen in their rockets anyways. Instead, this is likely grey hydrogen which is pretty much fossile gas after all. All that useless Carbon from fuel production has to go somewhere. Wanna guess where? ^.^

Rockets have a TINY effect on the environment and their benefits for us (and the planet via sending satellites that study our climate) outweigh them all though i do agree that all companies should pay for their damages