Posted by tourdemars to Technology at January 20, 2011 11:24 AM

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance omce (NRO) successfully lifted off today from Space Launch Complex-6 here at 1:10 p.m. PST. The Delta IV Heavy, at 235 feet or approximately 23 stories tall, is the largest rocket ever to launch from the West Coast of the United States. The mission is in support of national defense. The ULA Delta IV Heavy vehicle featured a center common booster core with two strap-on common booster cores. Each common booster core was powered by the RS-68 cryogenic engine producing 660,000 pounds of thrust. An RL 108-2 cryogenic engine powered the second stage. Both engines are built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketclyne. The payload was encased by a five-meter diameter (16. 7-foot diameter), 63-foot composite bi-sector payload fairing. ULA constructed the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle in Decatur, Alabama.