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– NASA's Florida Spaceport Rocket Garden will soon release a new launcher, the Delta II, which has just been removed.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced on Saturday, September 15, the upcoming display within one hour after the launch of the 155th and last Delta II Space Launch Complex-2 mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. .
Fifty-five minutes after takeoff, ULA President and CEO, Tory Bruno, shared the news.
"Just because we recently saw a Delta II take off for the last time does not mean we have to say goodbye," said Bruno in a video recorded as part of NASA's live broadcast. "We have another powerful Delta II rocket and I'm excited to announce it will soon be taking place at the Rocket Garden at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida."
One of the first attractions encountered by the public after crossing the gates of the resort entrance, the Rocket Garden features examples and life-size replicas of some of the major launchers in the history of the NASA for 60 years. The Delta II rocket entered service in 1989 and subsequently supported 53 NASA missions, including the dispatch of vehicles to Mars, moon probes, asteroids and comets, and the deployment of observatories in Earth orbit. .
"We are honored to have the Delta II join our historic rocket alignment in our Rocket Garden," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of the Kennedy Space Center's reception complex, in a pre-recorded video responding to new.
The Delta II will join seven other launchers in the Rocket Garden, including the Thor Delta, the first member of the Delta rocket family dating back to 1960. The Delta II was the last Delta rocket to fly with equipment with a direct lineage to Thor's ballistic missile of origin.
Other Rocket Garden pitchers include Juno I, Juno II, Atlas-Agena, Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas and Gemini-Titan II. NASA's latest satellite-configured Saturn IB satellite – the rocket that launched the first Apollo astronauts in space – is displayed in the garden on its side. The Delta II's first-stage engine, the RS-27, has its heritage in the H-1, which propelled the main stages of the Saturn IB.
"We are going to be able to show this blue beauty to everyone," said Mic Woltman, NASA's Launch Services Fleet Integration Manager, during the launch. "To be able to share Delta II's legacy with the public, put it at the Kennedy Space Center next to sister Thor in the Rocket Garden, this announcement made my night."
At a height of 40 meters, the Delta II will be the tallest standing rocket in the garden and the most modern, having made its first flight more than a decade after the last launch of the next Saturn IB. rocket represented.
"The Delta II will live among these giants," said Jennifer Mayo, exhibition and artifacts manager for the Kennedy Space Center tourist complex. "We will take care of this precious treasure for generations to come."
Details of when the Delta II will join the Rocket Garden or its location were not yet available.
During its 30 years of existence, the Delta II has evolved in several different configurations, characterized by the number of boosters mounted on the first floor and the size of its payload fairing. According to Bruno, the Delta II joining the Rocket Garden will have four boosters and a fairing of 10 meters, the same configuration as the final launch of the vehicle.
Abandoned by a final purchase of Delta II rockets by NASA, the Delta II to display will be assembled from material essentially qualified for the flight.
"It will be especially worth flying, we will try not to use the real ammunition," joked Bruno in a response published on Twitter on Saturday.
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