The Delta 2 rocket
SPACEFLIGHT NOW/BOEING FACT SHEET
Posted: April 5, 2001

  Delta 7925
A Boeing Delta 7925-9.5 launches from Cape Canaveral. Photo: Boeing
 
Boeing will use a Delta 2 7925-9.5 to launch the 2001 Mars Odyssey satellite for NASA.

Boeing manufactures Delta rockets in Huntington Beach, Calif., with final assembly in Pueblo, Colo. The 7925-9.5 three-stage launch vehicle has five major assemblies: the first stage, including main engine and nine strap-on solid propellant rocket motors; interstage; second stage; third stage and 9.5-foot diameter payload fairing. The Delta 2 is approximately 126 feet tall and eight feet wide.

Manufactured by Rocketdyne, a division of Boeing, the RS-27A main engine operates on liquid oxygen and RP-1 (kerosene). The RS-27A has a sea-level thrust of 200,000 pounds. Each of the three Alliant Techsystems solid strap-on motors has a sea-level thrust of 100,270 pounds. The main engine and the four solid rocket motors deliver a total thrust of 483,000 pounds at liftoff.

An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powers the second stage and burns Aerozine-50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. Ignited at altitude, the engine has a vacuum-rated thrust of 9,815 pounds.

The third stage is Thiokol's Star 48B solid-propellant stage.

Delta 7925
Illustration of the Delta 7925-9.5 rocket with Mars Odyssey. Photo: Boeing
 
The Boeing family of launch vehicles is derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. In that time 278 Deltas have been launched.

Delta 2 rockets can be configured as two- or three-stage vehicles depending on mission requirements. The latest version, the Delta 2 7925 model, can boost 3,965 pounds (1800 kg) to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

Today, Boeing has a growing list of commercial customers, including Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc., Space Systems/Loral, and Motorola. Delta rocket were used to launch 28 satellites to form the cornerstone of the Globastar system.

To serve its commercial customers, Boeing has agreements with the U.S. Air Force and NASA for the use of two government-owned launch pads at Space Launch Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., and one pad at Space Launch Complex 2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Major subcontractors include: Alliant Techsystems, Magna, Utah, graphite epoxy motors for boost assist; Aerojet, Sacramento, Calif., second-stage engine; Thiokol, a subsidiary of Cordant Technologies, Elkton, Md., third-stage solid rocket motor; and L3 Communications Space & Navigation, Teterboro, N.J., Redundant Inertial Flight Control Assembly (RIFCA) provides course and attitude control.

Flight Data File
Vehicle: Delta 2 (7925)
Payload: 2001 Mars Odyssey
Launch date: April 7, 2001
Launch times: 11:02 a.m. EDT or 11:32 a.m. EDT
Launch site: SLC-17A, Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Pre-launch briefing
Launch windows - See the daily launch times available for Mars Odyssey to lift off over the 20-day planetary alignment.

Launch timeline No. 1 - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch first daily opportunity is used.

Launch timeline No. 2 - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch second daily opportunity is used.

Ground track - Trace the Delta rocket's trek during launch.

Restricted zone - Map outlining the Launch Hazard Area where mariners should remain clear for the liftoff.

2001 Mars Odyssey - Technical look at the spacecraft and its systems.

Mission science - Overview of the scientific objectives of Mars Odyssey.

Delta directory - See our coverage of preview Delta rocket flights.

MISSION STATUS CENTER