Image of the Day: World’s largest rocket shoots spy package into space

The ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifts off from
Space Launch Complex-6. (Image via United Launch Alliance)

If you were within 50 miles of the Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast last week, you may have heard engines roaring. Why?

On August 28, at 11:03 a.m. PDT, the U.S. government launched an enormous rocket from the air base. The 23-story-tall Delta IV Heavy rocket was carrying a $1 billion spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (the department that oversees the country’s spy satellites).

The specific details about the satellite are under wraps, but it is speculated to be a “high-powered spy satellite capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the make and model of an automobile hundreds of miles below,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

The booster is a joint project between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and was constructed by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). During the launch, each common booster core was powered by a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine producing 663,000 pounds of thrust. This is the rocket's second launch since its debut in January 2011.

Additional images from the launch:

ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket. (Image via United Launch Alliance)


Delta IV 5-meter diameter payload fairing, with the NRO's payload encapsulated inside, is mated to its
Delta IV Heavy booster. (Image via United Launch Alliance)