ULA ‘needs more time’ after issue scrubs final Delta IV Heavy launch from Florida coast

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – United Launch Alliance scrubbed its attempt Thursday to launch its Delta IV Heavy rocket for the 16th and final time from Florida’s Space Coast.

Now plans to try to launch on Friday have also been scrubbed, as ULA crews deal with a technical issue.

In a statement, ULA said that Thursday’s launch attempt was scrubbed due to an issue with the gaseous nitrogen pipeline, which provides pneumatic pressure to the launch vehicle systems.

The launch team is still troubleshooting the problem and will need more time, ULA said Thursday night.

“We will continue to work with our customer to confirm our next launch attempt and a new date will be provided upon resolution,” ULA said in a statement.

Watch Thursday’s launch attempt again in the video player below:

The three-core, heavy-lift launch vehicle’s swan song will serve the NROL-70 mission on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office, which bills itself as developer and operator of “the world’s most capable and innovative overhead reconnaissance systems.”

The NRO has said the NROL-70 mission is necessary in order to further its own intelligence-collecting capabilities as they apply to U.S. national security, as well as to disaster relief and humanitarian efforts.

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Delta IV rockets were created to fulfill the requirements of the U.S. Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, according to the NRO. The first Delta IV launch took off in 2002 and Thursday’s will mark the last launch of either Delta IV’s medium or heavy variants.

Read further about the mission and Delta IV from ULA and the NRO.

ClickOrlando.com will plan to stream the launch live when coverage begins again.

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