ULA Delta IV Winds Down as NROL-68 Satellite Soars High – Via Satellite

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully launched the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-68 satellite on June 22, 2023, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch was the second-to-last rocket mission for the ULA Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle. The NRO has launched 16 missions since NROL-22 in 2006 aboard Delta IV Medium and Heavy variants. The final Delta IV Heavy mission is scheduled to occur next year. ULA’s Vulcan will replace the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle and lift the next generation of national security and commercial satellites into space with its own innovations. SpaceX and ULA were recently assigned 12 National Security Space Launch missions under the fiscal 2023 NSSL Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement contract.