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A massive United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle was used to send the clandestine NROL-37 payload on its way to orbit on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37B (SLC-37B) located in Florida on June 11, 2016, the mission sent the classified payload to a geosynchronous orbit, some 22,300 miles (35,888 kilometers) above the Earth. Upon reaching its destination it was redesignated as USA-268. The Delta IV rocket used on this mission stood an impressive 235 feet (72 meters) in height and consisted of three common booster cores attached together - producing an estimated two million lbs of thrust. Photos courtesy: Mike Howard, Charles Twine, Mike Deep, Carleton Bailie, Jared Haworth, Dawn Haworth, Derek Richardson
