Delta 4-Heavy rolled to launch pad

United Launch Alliance transferred a 170-foot-long Delta 4-Heavy rocket booster to Cape Canaveral's Complex 37B launch pad Tuesday night, and ground crews raised the rocket upright Wednesday to begin final flight preparations ahead of a Dec. 4 liftoff on the first orbital flight test of NASA's Orion spacecraft.

The unmanned test flight will send the Orion capsule 3,600 miles above Earth for a two-orbit, four-hour mission culminating in a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Delta 4-Heavy rocket is powered by three RS-68A engines supplied by Aerojet Rocketdyne, with an upper stage featuring an RL10 engine provided by the same propulsion company.

The photos show the rocket departing ULA's Delta 4 Horizontal Integration Facility for short trip to the seaside launch pad.

Liftoff is set for 7:05 a.m. EST (1205 GMT) Dec. 4 at the opening of a two-and-a-half hour launch window.

Read our full story.

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
 

Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
 

Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
 

Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
 

Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
 

Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper