Final Delta IV Heavy rocket launch held April 9

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CAPE CANAVERAL — A Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off for the final time as the United Launch Alliance (ULA) launch took place on Tuesday, April 9 at 12:53 p.m. at Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, according to a release from ULA.

"It's a bittersweet moment for us," said ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno at a press conference on Wednesday, March 27. "Such an amazing piece of technology. Twenty-three stories tall, half a million gallons of propellant, two and a quarter million pounds of thrust."

ULA will utilize the Vulcan rocket for heavy lift moving forward.

Bruno stated at the press conference that "we have been counting the days until this final launch."

"It absolutely has a special feel to it," he said of the launch at the press conference. "We're very excited to come in with Vulcan and fly these missions on a new platform, but at the same time we love this rocket. It (Delta IV Heavy) has a storied legacy in our community and it has done great things for our nation. We're very proud to have been a part of that and even though Vulcan's the future, I'm personally sad to see it go."

The rocket carried the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

"This is a particularly important mission," said NRO director Chris Scolese at a press conference on Wednesday, March 27. "All of our missions are really important but this one ranks up there. It's a little bit more special because it is the last flight of Delta IV Heavy."

ULA's next launch will be the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of the NASA's Commercial Crew program, per the release. That launch will is currently slated to take place no earlier than May 6.

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