American orbital launch vehicle. Three stage vehicle consisting of 9 x Castor 4A + 1 x EELT Thor/RS-27+ 1 x Delta K with 2.4 m (8 foot) diameter fairing)
Status: Retired 1990.
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Gross mass: 219,000 kg (482,000 lb).
Height: 39.00 m (127.00 ft).
Diameter: 2.44 m (8.00 ft).
Thrust: 3,790.00 kN (852,020 lbf).
Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).
First Launch: 1990.02.14.
Number: 1 .
LACE American military strategic defense satellite. One launch, 1990.02.14, USA 51. The Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment was part of a dual payload with RME carrying laser defense experiments. More...
RME American military strategic defense satellite. One launch, 1990.02.14, USA 52. The Relay Mirror Experiment (RME) was launched as a dual payload with LACE. More...
RS-27A Rocketdyne Lox/Kerosene rocket engine. 1054.2 kN. . Isp=302s. Replaced the RS-27 as the main system for the Delta and in the MA- 5A for the Atlas. RS2701B main engine, and twin LR101-NA-11 verniers. First flight 1989. More...
Delta The Delta launch vehicle was America's longest-lived, most reliable, and lowest-cost space launch vehicle. Development began in 1955 and it continued in service in the 21st Century despite numerous candidate replacements. More...
Associated Manufacturers and Agencies
Douglas American manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Boeing Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach, CA, USA. More...
Associated Launch Sites
Cape Canaveral America's largest launch center, used for all manned launches. Today only six of the 40 launch complexes built here remain in use. Located at or near Cape Canaveral are the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, used by NASA for Saturn V and Space Shuttle launches; Patrick AFB on Cape Canaveral itself, operated the US Department of Defense and handling most other launches; the commercial Spaceport Florida; the air-launched launch vehicle and missile Drop Zone off Mayport, Florida, located at 29.00 N 79.00 W, and an offshore submarine-launched ballistic missile launch area. All of these take advantage of the extensive down-range tracking facilities that once extended from the Cape, through the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and to South Africa and the Indian Ocean. More...
Cape Canaveral LC17B Delta launch complex. Part of a dual launch pad complex built for the Thor ballistic missile program in 1956. Upgraded over the decades for use with Thor, Delta, Delta II, and Delta III launch vehicles, it remained in use for over half a century. More...
Castor 4A Solid propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 11,743/1,529 kg. Thrust 478.31 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 266 seconds. More...
Delta K N2O4/Aerozine-50 propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 6,954/950 kg. Thrust 43.63 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 319 seconds. More...
Delta Thor XLT-C Lox/Kerosene propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 101,900/5,900 kg. Thrust 1,054.20 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 302 seconds. More...
Delta 6920-8 Chronology
1990 February 14 -
16:15 GMT - .
: Cape Canaveral
. Launch Complex
: Cape Canaveral LC17B
. LV Family
. Launch Vehicle
: Delta 6920-8
. LV Configuration
: Delta 6920-8 D192.
- USA 51 - .
Payload: LACE. Mass: 1,430 kg (3,150 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: SDIO. Class: Military. Type: Strategic defense satellite. Spacecraft: LACE. Decay Date: 2000-05-24 . USAF Sat Cat: 20496 . COSPAR: 1990-015A. Apogee: 480 km (290 mi). Perigee: 463 km (287 mi). Inclination: 43.1000 deg. Period: 94.00 min. Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment for SDIO. Research and exploration of the upper atmosphere and outer space. The McDonnell Douglas Corporation has provided the following information for its launch of the Losat spacecraft on 14 Feb 1990: LACE spacecraft (Losat-L), launch time 1615:00.626 GMT, ETR Launch Complex 17. Programmed orbital parameters 95.6 min, apogee 551 km, inc. 43.1 deg. Evaluate laser beam distortion in space.
- USA 52 - .
Payload: RME. Mass: 1,040 kg (2,290 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: SDIO. Class: Military. Type: Strategic defense satellite. Spacecraft: RME. Decay Date: 1992-05-24 . USAF Sat Cat: 20497 . COSPAR: 1990-015B. Apogee: 281 km (174 mi). Perigee: 261 km (162 mi). Inclination: 43.1000 deg. Period: 89.90 min. Relay Mirror Experiment; also known as Losat-R. RME validated stabilization, tracking, and pointing technologies for Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) missions through a credible demonstration of a space-based relay mirror system. The Wideband Angular Vibration Experiment (WAVE) measured low-level angular vibrations affecting performance of acquisition, tracking, and pointing systems. The experiment demonstrated that a laser beam can be accurately relayed from the earth to an orbiting satellite 450 kilometers away and then back to a 3-meter target on the ground. It achieved relay beam pointing accuracy which was 16 times better than the technical requirement. WAVE demonstrated the capability to discern platform disturbance amplitudes of a few nanoradians at discrete frequencies and is therefore a candidate to fulfill similar requirements for future ATP experiments.
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