Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| USA 353 Mission | Delta 4H B | Apr 9, 2024 |
| USA 345 Mission | Delta 4H B | Jun 22, 2023 |
| USA 338 Mission | Delta 4H B | Sep 24, 2022 |
| USA 314 Mission |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Delta 4H | Not stated | 8 | Retired |
Delta 4H A | Not stated | 5 | Retired |
Delta 4H B | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
Delta 4M | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
Delta 4H A |
| Apr 26, 2021 |
| USA 311 Mission | Delta 4H A | Dec 11, 2020 |
| GPS III SV02 Mission | Delta 4M+(4,2) A | Aug 22, 2019 |
| WGS 10 | Delta 4M+(5,4) A | Mar 16, 2019 |
| USA 290 Mission | Delta 4H A | Jan 19, 2019 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Delta 4M+(4,2) | Not stated | 13 | Retired |
Delta 4M+(4,2) A | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Delta 4M+(5,2) | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Delta 4M+(5,2) A | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Delta 4M+(5,4) | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
Delta 4M+(5,4) A | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
The final Defense Support Program satellite was launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in 2007.
Aerojet attributes the 30 percent cost reductions to application of additive manufacturing, reducing the number of parts in the engine, and using manufacturing practices from the company's RS-68 engine developed for Delta IV.
GPS 3 SV02 (Magellan) launched in August aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket and has completed on-orbit testing.
WGS-10 launched on 2019-03-15 on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium rocket.
The Air Force’s WGS-10 satellite was launched aboard a Delta IV Medium in March 2019.
A GPS III vehicle was launched aboard a Delta IV Medium in 2019.
A Delta IV Heavy launched NROL-71 for the National Reconnaissance Office in January 2019.
WGS-10 was launched on 2019-03-15 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium rocket.
ULA originally anticipated using Vulcan ACES to replace the Delta IV Heavy, which is scheduled to retire in 2023 or 2024.
NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget request estimated launching a mission on a commercial rocket such as Delta IV Heavy or Falcon Heavy would result in over $700,000,000 in savings compared to using an SLS rocket.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could use a single H3-derived rocket with three first-stage boosters strapped together, analogous to United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy or SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, to launch to the lunar Gateway or deliver landers directly to lunar orbit.
The U.S. Air Force awarded United Launch Alliance a five-year $1,180,000,000 contract on 2019-09-30 to complete the last planned five Delta IV Heavy National Reconnaissance Office missions from 2020 through 2024.
The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Launch Capability arrangement started in 2013 and supported both Delta 4 and Atlas 5 launches.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 directed the Air Force to discontinue the EELV Launch Capability contract by 2019-12-31 for Atlas 5 and by 2020-12-31 for Delta 4 launch services.
The Delta 4 Medium’s final mission used two solid-fueled strap-on boosters supplied by Northrop Grumman and a cryogenic RS-68A first-stage engine from Aerojet Rocketdyne.
NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget request proposed using a commercial launch vehicle such as Delta IV Heavy or Falcon Heavy to launch Europa Clipper to save several hundred million dollars while increasing transit time to about seven years.
The Delta 4 Medium lifted off at 9:06 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The Delta 4 Medium carried its GPS-3 payload to a transfer orbit from which the satellite will use onboard propulsion to join the Air Force’s other 31 GPS satellites in a 20,200-kilometer medium Earth orbit.
United Launch Alliance completed the final launch of a Delta 4 Medium on 2019-08-22, sending a GPS-3 satellite into medium Earth orbit for the U.S. Air Force.
The GPS-3 satellite launched on ULA’s final Delta 4 Medium was the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS-3 spacecraft.