The Delta IV rocket that deployed W5 was a Medium+ (4,2) configuration of the five-member Delta IV family of rockets developed by Boeing Expendable Launch Systems, a major program of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

The Medium+ category of the Delta IV features the Boeing Common Booster Core first stage, powered by the Boeing Rocketdyne RS-68 main engine; two Alliant Technologies strap-on solid rocket motors; the flight proven Pratt & Whitney RL10B-2 upper stage engine, and a four-meter Boeing composite payload fairing.

"We have successfully demonstrated the new Delta IV vehicle, and it will have a major impact on the world launch market," said Gale Schluter, vice president and general manager, Boeing Expendable Launch Systems. "I feel very proud to be a part of it, and I congratulate our Eutelsat customers on a successful deployment."

Eutelsat's W5 spacecraft, built by Alcatel Space, will serve a wide range of telecommunications users and service providers for video distribution and contribution links, occasional-use video, particularly Satellite News Gathering as well as Internet backbone connections. W5's coverage will enable Eutelsat to increase its market presence in Asia as far as the Pacific.

- more- "Boeing is delighted to have been selected by Eutelsat to launch the W5 satellite on the first flight of our Delta IV launch system," said Will Trafton, president of Boeing Launch Services. "Our mission success marks the beginning of a new era in global space transportation and demonstrates Boeing's commitment to quality, performance and value for all of our customers."

"I'm very proud of our entire Delta team. Everyone on the team has worked very hard for this launch, and today it paid off in a spectacular, successful mission," said Dan Collins, vice president and program manager, Boeing Delta programs. "Space launch is a challenging business, and today our folks showed they are up to that challenge."

The next Delta IV launch, planned for early 2003, is the first mission for the U.S. Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. A Delta IV Medium rocket will deploy DSCS III A3, a satellite for the Defense Satellite Communication System.

Boeing plans to launch up to five Delta IV missions in 2003, which includes the first launch from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

earlier related report
Alarms and Winds Scrub First Winds Scrub Delta 4 Launch
Cape Canaveral - Nov 19, 2002
The maiden flight of Boeing's Delta 4 has been delayed until Wednesday following ongoing holds early Tuesday evening at Cape Canaveral. Pad alarms and high winds twice caused the clock to be reset to T minus 5 minutes before a final hold at the end of today's launch window was called pushing any new launch attempt out until at least tomorrow. If Wednesday's launch is scrubbed the next launch opportunity might not be until Monday due to an already delayed shuttle mission.

earlier related report
Boeing Delta IV "Go For Launch"
St. Louis - Nov 18, 2002
Boeing officials held a Launch Readiness Review (LRR) today and confirmed the "Go for Launch" status of the first Delta IV rocket for Tuesday, November 19.

The LRR closed all outstanding items including a review of additional technical data involving the rocket's upper stage engine, the RL10B-2. The Delta IV Medium 4,2 configuration will deliver the Alcatel Space-built W5 telecommunications satellite for Eutelsat S.A. of France to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

"We took the time we needed to ensure mission success," said Dan Collins, vice president of the Boeing Delta program.

"We are ready to launch and that sentiment was echoed throughout the Launch Readiness Review today."

The launch will take place from Space Launch Complex 37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The 70-minute launch window opens at 5:39 p.m. EST.

The first Delta-IV rocket was supposed to blast off Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Boeing calls the rocket part of a family of launch vehicles that will have a long-term impact on the space, telecommunications and defense industries.

The rocket comes in five configurations capable of lifting up to 13 tonnes of payload into geostationary orbit, thanks to the world's largest liquid hydrogen engine, which produces 17 million horsepower and consumes one tonne of fuel per second, according to the manufacturer.

On its maiden flight lasting a mere 37 minutes, the Delta IV rocket will carry W5, a commercial telecommunications for the Paris-based Eutelsat.

Delta-IV's main client, however, will be the US Air Force, which has programmed the launch of a military communications satellite on the rocket's second voyage in February.

In 2003, the Delta-IV program will consist of six launches, including two of a commercial nature and by 2007 some 27 launches are expected.

Boeing, the world's leading aerospace company, will handle the lion's share of space payloads for the US Air Force for the next few years -- 19 payloads against only nine for its rival competitor, Lockheed-Martin. But its success largely depends on how well Delta-IV fares.

The US Air Force provided financial backing for the development of the new rocket to foster new generations of reliable and low-cost launch vehicles.

The program also contributed to the development of Lockheed-Martin's new Atlas-V rocket that blasted off for the first time from Cape Canaveral on August 21 with a Eutelsat satellite. The European company enjoyed a special discount for being the first to test the new launch vehicle.

Around 70 percent of the US space payloads are for the US government, against only 10 percent for Arianspace, which will also break into the space launch market this year with its new Turbo version of the Ariane-V.

Scheduled for launch on November 28, the European rocket's maximum load is 10 tonnes, compared with the 5.9 tonnes of its predecessor.

On its maiden voyage, Ariane-VI will carry two telecommunications satellites -- Eutelsat's Hot Bird-TM-7, and France's Stentor -- to test new ways of beaming the Internet and radio signals by satellite.

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