Samantha Mathewson joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2016. She received a B.A. in Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut. Previously, her work has been published in Nature World News.
Stunning rocket cam footage captures the final Delta IV Heavy launch, closing out the program after 64 years of delivering large payloads into space. in Florida at 12:53 p.m. EDT on April 9. The mission, known as NROL-70, carried a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office . rocket, and the 45th and last flight of a Delta IV launcher. It was also the final Delta launch of any kind, ending a string of 389 missions dating back to 1960.
The video includes views from both ground-based and onboard video cameras, documenting the rocket's successful final launch. From both angles, cameras watched the ignition sequence, with flames and plumes of smoke billowing up and around the rocket as it lifted off from the ground. The onboard cameras capture Earth slipping into the distance as the rocket travels into space.
The final Delta IV launch — which was originally scheduled for March 28 but aborted minutes before liftoff due to trouble with the rocket's nitrogen distribution system — marks the transition to ULA's next generation rocket,"The Delta rocket played a pivotal role in the evolution of space flight since the 1960s," Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO, said infollowing the April 9 launch.
When not writing or reading about science, Samantha enjoys traveling to new places and taking photos! You can follow her on Twitter @Sam_Ashley13.
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