Powerful Delta Heavy rocket ready for another launch attempt from Florida

A powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket is scheduled for another attempt to launch a classified spy satellite for the U.S. Department of Defense from Florida just after midnight Saturday.

United Launch Alliance plans to send the satellite into space Sunday at 12:10 a.m. EDT, after nearly a month's delay following a launch abort Aug. 29 only 3 seconds before liftoff.

That occurred amid a fireball on the launch pad from hydrogen venting, but the company said there no damage occurred to the pad or the rocket.

"As we believe in safety first and are dedicated to mission success, the team conducted a thorough engineering investigation to determine root cause," according to a company statement.

ULA said it replaced three devices on the launch pad's ground systems that regulate the pressure of helium flowing into the rocket. Helium is used to pressurize the propellant, or fuel, chambers of the rocket.

The Delta Heavy has three boosters and a collective 2.2 million pounds of thrust. By comparison, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, the most powerful of today's rockets, emits 3.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The ULA mission will depart from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Complex 37B. A 20% chance of thick clouds that could delay the launch exists, according to a U.S. Space Force forecast.

The mission, called NROL-44, will be the 12th launch of a Delta IV Heavy, which first was used in 2004.

After the first stage boosters are spent, the second stage will fire twice to position the satellite into orbit, the company said.

The National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that oversees the launch, is part of the Defense Department. According to its mission statement, it is responsible for developing, launching and operating America's reconnaissance satellites, along with data-processing facilities.

That data is used by the National Security Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to produce photos, maps, reports and other tools for the president, Congress, national policymakers, warfighters and others.

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