LIVE: Delta IV M+(5,2) - NROL-25 - April 3, 2012

[Ford Mustang]

1 minute until fairing sep.  Data looks good.

[Chris Bergin]

Fairing Jettion.

[Chris Bergin]

And that's the end of coverage as it's a NROL mission.

[Ford Mustang]

Webcast ending (due do customer request).

[Ford Mustang]

Liftoff replay:

[Galactic Penguin SST]

I wondered how come the NRO approved the coverage of the whole mission back on NROL-22 in 2006. 

[Chris Bergin]

Got to love those angry RS-68s at ignition!

[robertross]

Got to love those angry RS-68s at ignition!

Would have been better if the feed didn't cut out right after that as they switched camera angles, including on the replay. Ughh.

Oh well. A successful launch is what matters.

[TJL]

Why haven't the Delta Launch Vehicle numbers been displayed on this (359) and the previuos vehicle (358)?

[Chris Bergin]

Thanks to Ron and Steven for help with the coverage. Here's William Graham's excellent launch article, post launch:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/live-ula-delta-iv-launch-nrol-25-military-satellite-vafb/

[klausd]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/GddkD1UH5tE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/GddkD1UH5tE&rel=1</a>

[Antares]

Members of the USAF actually are flight controllers?

Depends on what you're talking about.  At Air Force ranges (Cape and Vandenberg) the only people who can command the rockets (and there's only one command) - who are the same people who would have destroyed a Shuttle if necessary - are USAF.  In the case of an Air Force launch, they are also part of the launch management team (go/no-go) and government technical insight team.

[Jim]

Go for launch!

I am not saying its a bad thing (I actually think it's nice), I just find it odd that they have so many employees passing away.

It is not just ULA employees, but customers too, USAF, NRO, NASAT, etc.

[Jim]

Why haven't the Delta Launch Vehicle numbers been displayed on this (359) and the previuos vehicle (358)?

I've wondered the same. 

One possibility is that, since Delta numbering is an old NASA-Goddard/McDonnell Douglas tradition dating from 1960, the end of Delta 2 (last of the Thor-Delta family) has left the program bereft of those who carried the tradition forward.   

Another possibility is that it is a simple ULA cost-cutting move partly tied to the post-Delta 2 RIF.  I wonder if we will see the "AV" numbers end on Atlas 5 as well.

Note that visible Ariane numbering was discontinued some time ago.  I don't think that Falcon 9 carries a visible tail number, nor do most other big rockets nowadays - at least nothing beyond small "nameplate" type serial numbers.

 - Ed Kyle

The AV numbers are tail numbers and not sequential flight numbers. They have an actual purpose

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Did something went wrong with this launch? It's almost two hours since the launch and there's no presser. (back on NROL-41 the presser came out within 20 minutes of the launch) Unless, of course, the bird's going out of LEO....