Does ULA just like shipping things early, or does the trip through the Panama Canal necessitate installing all the ITAR sensitive items on site?
Quote from: pb2000 on 04/09/2017 04:18 amDoes ULA just like shipping things early, or does the trip through the Panama Canal necessitate installing all the ITAR sensitive items on site?It's not uncommon for hardware to be at the pad for awhile, especially if it's the next launch, and the Delta Mariner was available.
Quote from: Newton_V on 04/09/2017 04:15 pmQuote from: pb2000 on 04/09/2017 04:18 amDoes ULA just like shipping things early, or does the trip through the Panama Canal necessitate installing all the ITAR sensitive items on site?It's not uncommon for hardware to be at the pad for awhile, especially if it's the next launch, and the Delta Mariner was available.After this launch, how many Delta IV-Ms are remaining? Have heard 2018 is final year...Same for Delta IIs... one this year, one next, and done?
Quote from: AncientU on 04/09/2017 06:02 pmQuote from: Newton_V on 04/09/2017 04:15 pmQuote from: pb2000 on 04/09/2017 04:18 amDoes ULA just like shipping things early, or does the trip through the Panama Canal necessitate installing all the ITAR sensitive items on site?It's not uncommon for hardware to be at the pad for awhile, especially if it's the next launch, and the Delta Mariner was available.After this launch, how many Delta IV-Ms are remaining? Have heard 2018 is final year...Same for Delta IIs... one this year, one next, and done?Looks like three more Delta IV Ms through 2018 (NROL-47, GPS IIIA-1, and WGS-10), with the last of the two remaining Delta IIs (aside from the spare) the same year.
This is the next Delta IV launch I see on the schedule...https://www.facebook.com/30thSpaceWing/videos/10155981858874897/?hc_ref=NEWSFEEDA cargo ship, the MV Mariner, was unloaded at the Vandenberg Air Force Base dock, April 6. The MV Mariner made its way from a production facility in Decatur, Ala., to deliver a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.Various Air Force personnel were on site at Vandenberg's only dock, which solely exists to accommodate the Mariner's rocket deliveries. The Delta IV rocket is delivered by boat due to its massive size inhibiting other forms of travel.Check out this time-lapse of the arrival and offloading!
I saw the CBC unloaded, and the two halves of a payload fairing. There was also a large container unloaded. Did this contain the 5-meter diameter DCSS?Also, this launch campaign will be the last for a Delta IV Medium from Vandenberg/SLC-6.
According to SFN this launch has slipped to the 20th of December
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There are quite a few launches scheduled in the back half of the year, many of them SpaceX...