History
All United States expendable launch vehicles were planned to be phased out in favor of the Space Shuttle, but the Challenger disaster of 1986 led to Delta development being restarted. The Delta II was specifically designed to accommodate the GPS Block II series of positioning satellites. As of October 2011, Delta IIs have successfully launched 149 projects, including several NASA missions to Mars:
- Mars Global Surveyor in 1996
- Mars Pathfinder in 1996
- Mars Climate Orbiter in 1998
- Mars Polar Lander in 1999
- Mars Odyssey in 2001
- Mars Exploration Rovers (MER-A, Spirit and MER-B, Opportunity) in 2003
- Mars Phoenix Lander in 2007
Delta II manufacturing, assembly and integration currently take place at facilities in Decatur, Alabama; Harlingen, Texas; San Diego, California; and Denver, Colorado.
Read more about this topic: Delta II
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