Denver, Colo., (Sept. 30, 2011) – NASA announced the addition of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta II rocket to the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract.
“We are extremely pleased NASA has added the reliable Delta II to the NLS II contract and look forward to continuing the legacy of the program,” said Michael Gass, ULA’s president and CEO. “ULA has demonstrated its ability to fully integrate Atlas V, Delta IV and Delta II product lines allowing us to continue offering medium launch capability at the best value for our customers.”
The Delta II Program has a rich heritage and has been launched 150 times with a success rate of 98.7 percent.
“While we count success one mission at a time, we have been able to count on the Delta II’s success 96 times in a row over the last decade,” stated Gass “This is a tribute to our dedicated ULA employees, our supplier teammates and our NASA Launch Services Program customer who ensure mission success is the focus of each and every launch.”
ULA’s Delta II has launched the majority of NASA’s critical science missions over the last decade including the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Genesis, Phoenix Mars Lander, Stardust and most recently the twin GRAIL spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sept. 10.
ULA’s next launch is the Delta II NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) mission for NASA scheduled for Oct. 25, 2011 from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., and Harlingen, Texas. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
For more information on ULA, visit the ULA Web site at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321).
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Contact: Jessica Rye, (321) 730-5646 (Office), (321) 693-6250 (Cell) jessica.f.rye@ulalaunch.com
