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![]() Delta III rocket diagram | |
Function | Orbital launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer |
|
Country of origin | United States |
Size | |
Height | 35 m (115 ft) |
Diameter | 4 m (13 ft) |
Mass | 301,450 kg (664,580 lb) |
Stages | 2 or 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 8,290 kg (18,280 lb)[1] |
Payload to GTO | |
Mass | 3,810 kg (8,400 lb)[1] |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Delta |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | Cape Canaveral, SLC-17B |
Total launches | 3 |
Success(es) | 0 |
Failure(s) | 2 |
Partial failure(s) | 1 |
First flight | 26 August 1998 |
Last flight | 23 August 2000 |
Boosters – GEM 46 | |
No. boosters | 9 |
Maximum thrust | 628.3 kN (141,200 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 273 seconds (2.68 km/s) |
Burn time | 75 seconds |
Propellant | AP / HTPB / Al |
First stage | |
Powered by | 1 × RS-27A |
Maximum thrust | 1,085.79 kN (244,100 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 254 seconds (2.49 km/s) |
Burn time | 260 seconds[2] |
Propellant | LOX/RP-1 |
Second stage – DCSS | |
Powered by | 1 × RL10B |
Maximum thrust | 110.03 kN (24,740 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 462 seconds (4.53 km/s)[3] |
Burn time | 700 seconds[2] |
Propellant | LOX / LH2 |
Third stage (Optional) – Star 48B | |
Maximum thrust | 66.723 kN (15,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 286 seconds (2.80 km/s) |
Burn time | 87 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB |
Delta III was an expendable launch vehicle made by McDonnell Douglas (later acquired by Boeing). Development was canceled before the vehicle became operational. The vehicle is the third generation of the Delta rocket family, developed from the highly successful Delta II to help meet the launch demand of larger satellites. While the Delta III never had a successful launch, some of the technologies developed were used in its successor, the Delta IV.
The Delta III was the first to use the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, which was designed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan based on the second stage it developed for the H-IIA rocket and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Contraves built the fairing and payload adapters based on designs it used on the Ariane 4.
The first Delta III launch was on August 26, 1998.[4] Of its three flights, the first two were failures, and the third, though declared successful, reached the low end of its targeted orbit range and carried only a dummy (inert) payload. The Delta III could deliver up to 3,810 kilograms (8,400 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit, twice the payload of its predecessor, the Delta II.[1] Under the four-digit designation system from earlier Delta rockets, the Delta III is classified as the Delta 8930.