This Week in Launch: ULA is back again to reattempt its final Delta IV launch

After some delay due to technical issue, ULA is back to attempting to get its final Delta IV Heavy off the ground and firmly into retirement. Russia is also launching a decade old rocket that is still in development for some reason.

This week’s launches:

• April 9 (Tuesday)
  • Roscosmos | Angara A5 | Vostochny Angara Test Flight | 5:00 A.M. ET
    • Site 1A, Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
  • ULA | Delta IV Heavy | NROL-70 | 12:53 P.M. ET
    • SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Floirda
• April 10 (Wednesday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-48 | 12:00 A.M. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
• April 11 (Thursday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | USSF-62 | 5:00 A.M. PT
    • SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
• April 12 (Friday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-49 | 9:00 P.M. ET
    • LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

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ULA is back again for another launch attempt

Tuesday ULA has good weather and hopefully good equipment for the final launch of the Delta IV Heavy. Launching the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, the payload is a classified spy satellite, most likely for signal intelligence.

This will not just be the final launch of the Delta IV heavy but the entire Delta family of rockets, which dates back to the 1960s. Heritage of the Delta program will continue on with the Vulcan rocket, ULA’s new entry into the market that lifted off for the first time earlier this year.

Make sure to checkout ULA’s YouTube channel and social accounts for updates on the launch’s progress.

Russia launching another test payload on Angara

Angara, Russia next generation rocket that has been under development since the 1990s, will see another test flight this week from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. The Angara A5 is the nation’s newest heavy list rocket and is set to replace the Proton rocket that can only launch out of Kazakhstan.

The A5 has launched three times and they have all launched with test payloads. Reportedly this is because the nation doesn’t have any satellites ready to fly on it. There are also plenty of Protons reportedly in Russia’s stock piles and with a nearly once a year launch rate, Angara might have some more time to wait before it’s ready to take over.

The Angara A5 could be seen used for the nation’s new lunar exploration program with China, with enough lift to possibly sent payloads out to lunar orbit. Angara can also be used for low Earth orbit space station models Russia also plans to build with China after the ISS is retired.