RetiredUnited Launch AllianceFirst Launch: 2004-12-21
Delta IV Heavy
Triple-core heavy-lift variant of the Delta IV family, formerly the United States' most powerful rocket, retired in 2024 after flying key national security missions.
SpaceStats Reliability & Flight Record
TOTAL LAUNCHES
16
Orbital missions
SUCCESSFUL
15
1 failures
SUCCESS RATE
93.8%
LANDINGS
0
Expendable Vehicle
United Launch AllianceFeatured Photography
Delta IV Heavy Launches Parker Solar Probe
NASA / Bill Ingalls
Technical & Propulsion Specifications
Operator: United Launch AllianceVehicle Dimensions & Mass
- Overall Height
- 70.7 m
- Body Diameter
- 5.1 m
- Gross Lift-off Mass
- 733.4 t
- Stages Count
- 2
- Fairing Diameter
- 5 m
Stage 1 (Booster)
- Recovery Mode
- Expendable
Stage 2 & Capacities
- LEO Capacity
- 28.8 t
- GTO Capacity
- 14.2 t
- Cost per Launch
- $400,000,000
- LEO Price / kg
- ~$13,894 / kg
Fleet Deployment & Economics Suite
Model Satellite Constellations or Payload Charters with Delta IV Heavy
Calculate multi-plane Walker Delta fleet costs, fairing dispenser limits, launch cadence timelines, and single-mission rideshare economics.
High-Resolution Photo Gallery & Media
4 photos & renders of Delta IV Heavy
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Liftoff2018-08-12Delta IV Heavy Launches Parker Solar Probe
United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy triple-core rocket launching NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a mission to touch the Sun.
NASA / Bill Ingalls
Source 
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Pad2014-11-20Delta IV Heavy Standing on SLC-37B
The iconic orange Common Booster Cores of Delta IV Heavy on Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral.
United Launch Alliance
Source 
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Liftoff2014-12-05RS-68 Engine Ignition Fireball at SLC-37B
Hydrogen free-burn fireball during RS-68A main engine start moments before Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 liftoff.
NASA
Source 
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Rollout2011-01-15Delta IV Heavy Rollout at Vandenberg SLC-6
Horizontal transport and erection of Delta IV Heavy at Space Launch Complex 6 on California's central coast.
U.S. Air Force
Source SpaceStats Launch Manifest & Database
0 mission records cataloged in database
No individual manifest entries logged in database for Delta IV Heavy.
Summary stats and flight achievements are detailed in the overview above.