CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – United Launch Alliance will launch a U.S. national security mission on Aug. 26 using its Delta IV Heavy rocket, a treat for early risers because the heavy-lift rocket is a rare sight.Liftoff is scheduled for 2:16 a.m.
from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Inside the rocket’s nose cone is a spacecraft known as NROL-44, a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.The liftoff will mark the eighth for the Delta heavy for NRO missions, according to ULA.
The private space company has another launch lined up for NRO sometime in September but that will be with Altas V, ULA’s workhorse rocket.Last October, the heavy-lift rocket launched NASA’s Parker Solar Probe from Cape Canaveral on a mission.