Launch of ULA's last 'single stick' Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral delayed

The planned late July liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has been delayed about a month, the company said Wednesday.

Teams will now target no earlier than Aug. 22 for liftoff from Launch Complex 37 of the final "single stick" Delta IV with an Air Force Global Positioning System satellite.

ULA said the mission, known as GPS III SV02, was delayed "due to an anomaly during component testing at a supplier which has created a crossover concern." The same concern also was noted last week when the launch of an Atlas V rocket, also a ULA product, was delayed to no earlier than Aug. 8.

The company confirmed to FLORIDA TODAY that the same issue — tied to the upper stage — caused both delays.

ULA flies two variants of Delta IV. One is the standard rocket that has one core booster, while Delta IV Heavy flies with three cores. The latter will continue flying from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Next up on the Eastern Range, meanwhile, is SpaceX. The company will launch a Falcon 9 rocket with an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft packed with thousands of pounds of cargo and supplies for the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for 7:35 p.m. Sunday and the first stage will return to land at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.