Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984
The last single-stick Delta rocket launched Thursday, and it put on a show
On Thursday morning, United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Medium rocket took flight for the final time. Beneath clear blue skies at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch site in Florida, the rocket carried the GPS III satellite safely into orbit. This is the second of the Air Force's next-generation global positioning system satellites to reach space.
As usual, the single-core Delta IV rocket performed its job well. Since 2002, this rocket (which can fly with or without small, side-mounted solid rocket boosters) has flown 29 missions. All have been successful.
But the venerable Delta rocket will fly no more. Put simply, in today's marketplace—in which United Launch Alliance must compete with SpaceX for national security launches and with many other providers for commercial missions—the Delta-IV Medium cannot compete.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @04:21PM (2 children)
Everybody knows Elon Musk is the only one who can launch rockets. It's Gattaca, man!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:17PM (1 child)
U got your movies mixed up, GATTACA was more about a world with gene-editing on humans, u in-valid
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @09:04PM
There were a dozen rocket launches per day in Gattaca, and only the genetically pure elite could be on them. Elon Musk is the elite, and he will launch all dozen rockets.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @07:05PM
expect to see more and bigger dicks on our rockets
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @12:42PM
another rocket test where the complete rocket was succesfully obliterated in the ocean whilst ejecting some stuff mounted on the top during flight ...