At 0026 GMT on 16 March 2019, In what would be one of the last flight of the Delta IV, a Delta IVM+ 5,4 launched the WGS 10 military communications satellite from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. The ULA operated flight went as planned and the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle’s upper stage 36 minutes 50 seconds after lift off at 0102:50 GMT.
Built by Boeing for the US Air Force, the military communications satellite Wideband Global SATCOM 10 carries Ka- and X-band transponders with a total 8.088 GHz of bandwidth. It will operate from a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
While the Delta IV Heavy is to operate for some launches yet, the Delta IVM (Medium) series is rapidly being retired due to its higher operating cost relative to its Atlas V stablemate. This was the last flight of the 5,4 version – the rocket’s nomenclature meaning that it carries a 5.1 m fairing and four solid rocket boosters.
Delta IVM+ 5,4 rocket puts WGS 10 into orbit. Courtesy: ULA
