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 |  | Boeing Seeks Commercial Customer for First Delta 4 Launch
By Warren Ferster
Spacenews.com Staff Writer
posted: 10:24 am ET
18 January 2001
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HONOLULU — Boeing Co
HONOLULU — Boeing Co. of Seattle intends to launch its first Delta 4 rocket in the first quarter of next year whether or not it has a paying customer, said Robert J. Sirko, director of international sales, Asia region, for the Delta program.
The maiden Delta 4 will be a commercial variant of the vehicle with a 13-foot (4-meter) payload fairing and two solid-fuel strap-on boosters, Sirko said. Boeing [BA] is looking for a paying customer for the flight but will launch a dummy payload if necessary, he said.
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In all, Boeing is planning four Delta 4 missions in 2002, one in each quarter. In the second mission, a Delta 4 will loft a weather satellite for the U.S. Air Force. The company is looking for a commercial payload for the third flight, and will demonstrate the heavy-lift variant of the Delta 4 in the fourth mission, he said.
Meanwhile, Boeing has some Delta 3 rockets available for launch on relatively short notice, Sirko said. It is unlikely that any of those rockets would be launched this year, however, because no payloads are available, he said. The 2002 Delta 3 manifest already includes up to five satellites for ICO-Teledesic Global Ltd., Sirko said.
Boeing's 2001 launch manifest does not include any Delta 3 missions, Sirko said.
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