Delta II (NASA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Delta II
Operator: NASA
Location: Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida (USA)
Timeframe: 1995-1999

Personal Interest:
The 45th Weather Squadron provided launch weather support for all launches from Cape Canaveral Air Station. I was on duty for several Delta II launches. There were 29 Delta II launches from CCAS LC-17A/B during my tour of duty there. The Delta II was very reliable, with 27 rockets performing correctly; one exploded after liftoff, the other failed to deliver the payload into a correct orbit. The NASA Mars mission failures were notorious in the press, with the Climate Orbiter failing and the Polar Lander crashing into the planet's surface. This model represents a Delta II rocket configured to carry the successful NASA Mars Global Surveyor mission payload.