Delta E

	Launch of a Delta E with Pioneer 6
Function	Expendable launch system
Country of origin	United States
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral LC-17; Vandenberg SLC-2E
Total launches	23
Success(es)	23
First flight	6 November 1965
Last flight	1 April 1971
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Delta E, or Thor-Delta E was an American expendable launch system used for twenty-three orbital launches between 1965 and 1971. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.^[1]

The first stage was a Thor missile in the DSV-2C configuration, and the second stage was the Delta-E, which was derived from the earlier Delta-A.^[2]^[3]^[4] Three Castor-1 solid rocket boosters were clustered around the first stage. Two different solid-fuel upper stages were available; an Altair-2 was used on the baseline version, however this could be replaced with an FW-4D to increase performance. A Delta E with the FW-4D upper stage was designated Delta E1. Six flights used the Delta E configuration and seventeen used the Delta E1.^[5]^[6]

Delta E rockets were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17 and Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 2E. All 23 flights were successful. On December 16 1965, a Delta E launched the Pioneer 6 space probe.^[1]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Wade, Mark. "Delta". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24.
^ Wade, Mark (2016-12-28). "Delta E". Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
^ Wade, Mark (2016-12-28). "Delta A". Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
^ ^a ^b Krebs, Gunter. "Thor Family". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "Delta-E". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "Delta-E1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-01-30.