Delta II

Delta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989. Delta II vehicles include the retired Delta 6000, the active Delta 7000, and two 7000 variants (light and heavy). Delta II rockets were later built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems until Delta rocket production became the responsibility of United Launch Alliance (ULA) on December... more

Delta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989. Delta II vehicles include the retired Delta 6000, the active Delta 7000, and two 7000 variants (light and heavy). Delta II rockets were later built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems until Delta rocket production became the responsibility of United Launch Alliance (ULA) on December 1, 2006. ULA now markets Delta II to U.S. government customers, and Boeing Launch Services (BLS) markets Delta II to commercial companies. All United States expendable launch vehicles were to be phased out for the Space Shuttle, but in 1986 the Challenger accident restarted Delta development. The Delta II was specifically designed to accommodate the GPS Block II series of satellites. Delta IIs have successfully launched 125 projects (through August 2007), including several NASA missions to Mars: Delta II manufacturing, assembly and... less