ULA sets new date for final launch of Delta IV Heavy rocket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — United Launch Alliance teams have set a new target date for the final launch of their Delta IV heavy rocket after a previous attempt was scrubbed late in the countdown last week.

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The rocket launch was scheduled for Thursday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but was called off indefinitely due to the failure of a pump that helps provide pneumatic pressure to the launch vehicle systems.

ULA teams have taken time to troubleshoot the issue and now say they’re ready to try again.

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The launch is now planned for Tuesday, April 9 at 12:53 p.m., pending range approval.

The rocket will carry a classified spy satellite into orbit as part of the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

It will be the 16th and final launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket and the NRO’s 12th launch aboard ULA’s Delta IV Heavy rocket.

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The Delta program will have spanned more than 60 years from the first launch in 1960 to the final launch this year.

The final Delta launch signals ULA’s transition to the new Vulcan rocket.

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