Images & Movies
The Delta II Launch Vehicle
At Launch Complex 17, Pad A, on Cape Canaveral Air Station a Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) test of the Delta 230 expendable launch vehicle is under way. During the prelaunch test, the service tower at the pad is rolled back and all Radio Frequency (RF) sources that support final countdown -- such as range tracking and launch control -- are radiated toward the vehicle to insure that no interference to the signals exists. Delta 230 is a Delta II 7920-configuration vehicle built by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. Encapsulated atop the vehicle is the X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE), which the Delta will loft into a low-Earth orbit to begin a two-year mission to gather data about X-ray emitting objects in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond.
