The United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV Heavy Rocket shone in a spectacular 3D projection ahead of this week’s satellite launch.
The Delta IV Heavy Rocket is planned for the NROL-44 espionage satellite on Saturday (August 29) at 2:04 PM EDT (0604 GMT) from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. On August 24, however, the spaceship served as a backdrop for a 3D projection celebrating the legacy of ULA and the successful delivery of 140 missions around the company. “We are dreamers, inspired by unimaginable possibilities; believers driven to exploit the potential of space; leaders combine expertise and ingenuity – and it all started with a spark of imagination,” as stated in the video of the event.
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The 3D presentation started with an animated start countdown of the Delta IV Heavy Rocket. As the virtual spaceship lifted, the background changed from blue skies to the dying landscape of space.
The video showed leaders in space travel, including John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, highlighting the successes of the satellite industry and how advancing technologies have connected the world. This includes more accurate weather satellites, used to track dangerous storms or natural disasters and determine evacuation plans, such as national security satellites and missions to the solar system and beyond.
“Over the coming decades, ULA will continue to protect life on earth with the introduction of Vulcan Centaur, our next-generation rocket – a rocket, built for national security [and] founded on the legacy of Atlas and Delta of success, “according to the video.” With Vulcan Centaur, we create unlimited possibilities for a safer, more secure existence at home and in space. ”
The August 29 launch of ULA marks the 12th flight of a Delta IV Heavy rocket since its debut in 2004. This week’s car is one of only five Delta rockets left, as ULA aims to retire the launcher before launching Vulcan Centaur. The first operational flight for Vulcan Centaur is expected in private moon landing called Peregrine, which will be launched in 2021.
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