The U.S. Air Force has taken two major steps toward its requirement for assured access to space with the recent successes of the Boeing Delta IV launch vehicle and team.

The most recent launch on March 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., “marks the dawn of a new day for national security space programs,” said Lt. Col. Tony Taliancich, Air Force director of the EELV Cape Consolidated Task Force. “It culminates our joint efforts with industry to develop a national launch capability that satisfies both government and commercial needs.”

Boeing developed the Delta IV family of rockets in partnership with the Air Force’s EELV program to provide assured access to space and reduce launch costs. Reliability is a key ingredient of assured access, and as Bill Collopy, vice president and general manger of Boeing Launch and Satellite Systems pointed out, you are only as good as your last launch. “We instituted independent verification and validation and testing of every subsystem on Delta IV and our successful launch performance is indicative of the care we have incorporated to ensure reliability and our nation's access to space.”

“We’re proud to begin launch service for the EELV program, and we’re looking forward to three additional Delta IV launches this year that include another DSCS III launch, the first launch of our Delta IV Heavy vehicle, and the first mission from our new launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,” said Will Trafton, vice president and general manager, Boeing Expendable Launch Systems.

On March 10 a Delta IV Medium rocket successfully deployed the Defense Satellite Communications System spacecraft, DSCS IIIA3, to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite was the first military satellite payload under the EELV program. The rocket carried four onboard cameras that captured the spacecraft’s separation from the vehicle.

“It was an absolutely spectacular launch,” said Col. Susan Mashiko, director of the U.S. Air Force EELV program. “In terms of national security and national security payloads, it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

In November, a Delta IV rocket launched the program’s first commercial payload, a telecommunications satellite called W5 for Eutelsat S.A.

Boeing was awarded 22 of the 29 initial launches for the U.S. Air Force program and is the only EELV contractor to develop a U.S.-built main engine, East and West Coast launch facilities and a heavy-lift vehicle capable of carrying up to 13,130 kg. (28,950 lbs.) to geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The Delta IV rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 10 performed flawlessly.

Results from initial data reviews of the Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS) III A3 satellite launch show that the orbital insertion of the spacecraft was right on target, well within the mission requirements and predicted accuracy. The apogee and perigee altitudes of the spacecraft after separation were within 15 and 1.2 nautical miles of target, respectively, and the orbit inclination angle was exactly as targeted, said Dan Collins, vice president and Delta program manager.

“The accuracy of this launch will contribute to the longevity of the DSCS satellite lifespan,” Collins said.

The U.S. Air Force Space Command operates 10 Phase III DSCS satellites that provide defense officials and battlefield commanders secure voice and high rate data communications. The DSCS III system also transmits space operations and early warning data to government systems and users.