California's first Delta 4-Heavy arrives at Vandenberg AFB, CA

The three Common Booster Cores and the cryogenic upper stage to comprise the West Coast's first Delta 4-Heavy rocket arrives

aboard the Delta Mariner shipping vessel at Vandenberg Air Force Base's harbor in September 2009 after a month-long, 4,000-mile voyage from the factory in Alabama, including a trip through the Panama Canal. The rocket segments were transported up the

road to Space Launch Complex 6 and the Horizontal Integration Facility for assembly.

SLC-6 receives its first Delta 4-Heavy rocket

The assembled Delta 4-Heavy rocket is transported from the Horizontal Integration Facility to the pad at Vandenberg Air Force

Base's Space Launch Complex 6 in January 2010 to begin extensive testing and preparation for the first West Coast flight of

the massive vehicle.

Delta 4-Heavy rocket goes vertical at SLC-6

The fixed pad erector uses hydraulic pistons to lift the Delta 4-Heavy rocket upright and place the vehicle atop the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 6 in

January 2010. The action occurs inside the protective confines of the mobile assembly shelter that shrouds the pad

Massive Delta rocket nearly ready for launch

These images show the Delta 4-Heavy rocket as workers retracted an assembly shelter on the eve

of blastoff from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The triple-body launcher will send a classified U.S. spy

satellite into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Delta 4-Heavy rocket revealed for launch at VAFB

The Delta 4-Heavy rocket is unveiled for its critical national security satellite launch as the mobile service gantry is retracted from

the mammoth booster at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 6.

19 January 2011

Launch Rocket: Delta 4-Heavy

Payload: NROL-49Date: Jan. 20, 2011

Time: 1:08 p.m. PST (4:08 p.m. EST)Site: SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.