Nearly 17 years after it inaugurated the Delta IV family’s flight history, a Medium+ (4,2) configuration of a rocket that traces its lineage to the start of the space program bows out of operational service on Thursday with one final mission for the U.S. Air Force.
The swansong flight for the Delta IV Medium from United Launch Alliance launched inside a 27-minute window at 09:06 EDT (13:06 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a mission to place the second GPS III satellite for the Air Force into orbit.