video for embedding at http://scitech.quickfound.net/astro/space_news.html
History of the Delta rocket through the launch of COBE (the Cosmic Background Explorer) in November 1989.
This is the same public domain video uploaded by NASA, with the black borders removed and the aspect ratio corrected.
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahl05SRT0NI
"The evolution of the Delta launch vehicle, shown in Figure 1, reaches back thirteen years when, in 1955, the United States participated in the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and undertook the development of the Vanguard threestage launch vehicle; in the same year the Air Force initiated the development of the Thor IRBM. With modifications, the Thor became the first stage of Delta; the Vanguard second stage propulsion system, evolved through the Able programs, became the Delta second stage propulsion system; and the Vanguard X-248 third stage solid propellant rocket motor was adapted as the third stage for Delta. The development and integration of these systems and the production of twelve (12) vehicles was started in early 1959 under prime contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company... Eleven of the twelve vehicles were launched successfully carrying, among others, the first passive communications satellite, Echo I (August 1960), the cooperative NASA/United Kingdom Ariel I (April 1960), the TIROS II through VI series, the first Orbiting Solar Observatory, and the first private industry satellite, AT&T's Telstar I (July 1962). The total development cost, including the twelve vehicles (Model DAI-19) and launch support, was approximately $43, 000, 000, compared to the $40, 000, 000 estimated at the outset of the program."
Delta: A Scientific and Application Satellite Launch Vehicle (1969)
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690028238_1969028238.pdf
"Delta's history stretches back to the late 1950s when the U.S. government, responding to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik in 1957, contracted for development of the rocket. These early Delta rockets derived their design from Thor, the U.S. Air Force's intermediate-range ballistic missile. The first successful Delta launch was of NASA's Echo 1A satellite on Aug. 12, 1960.
The Delta legacy grew with launches of the Tiros and GOES satellites, beginning in 1960, which revolutionized weather forecasting, and the first Telstar and Intelsat launches, which enabled the now-famous TV phrase, "live, via satellite!" The Explorer research satellites provided data about energy fields and particles that could affect communications satellites, while NASA's Pioneer probes undertook a long series of space exploration missions.
Through the years Delta became larger, more advanced and capable of carrying heavier satellites into orbit. Design changes included larger first-stage tanks, addition of strap-on solid rocket boosters, increased propellant capacity, an improved main engine, adoption of advanced electronics and guidance systems, and development of upper stage and satellite payload systems. In a series of incremental steps, Delta payload capacity grew from 45 kg (100 lb) to a 185 km circular low Earth orbit (LEO) up to 21,892 kg ( 48,264 lb) to 407 km circular LEO and 12,980 kg (28,620 lb) to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) using Delta IV.
Until the early 1980s, Delta served as NASA's primary launch vehicle for boosting communications, weather, science and planetary exploration satellites into orbit. In 1981 the U.S. Space Shuttle changed U.S. space policy, and after 24 years Delta production halted, as NASA planned to use the shuttle for satellite launches.
However, in January 1986, President Reagan announced that shuttles would no longer carry commercial payloads, opening the way for the return of Delta. Following a contract from the U.S. Air Force for 20 launch vehicles, the newer, more powerful Delta II version emerged in 1989.
In response to market needs for a larger rocket to launch commercial satellites, Delta III began development in 1995. Its first launch occurred in 1998 and its final launch in 2000, paving the way to the next configuration of the Delta rocket, the Delta IV.
The Delta IV family of medium-to-heavy launch vehicles became operational in 2002. The first Delta IV launch, of Eutelsat's W5 commercial satellite, took place on Nov. 20, 2002. The first payload delivered for the U.S. government's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program was the DSCS A3 satellite on March 10, 2003."
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/deltaHistory.html
Delta, rocket, launch vehicle, launch, satellite launcher, NASA, space program, rocket launches, orbit, communications satellite, weather satellite
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50 Years of Atlasby theaeroandy5,182 views
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