Boeing Aerospace - Delta III

Delta III was an expendable launch vehicle made by McDonnell Douglas (later acquired by Boeing). The vehicle was developed from the highly-successful Delta II to help meet the launch demand of larger satellites. It consisted of the first stage and solid rocket boosters from the Delta II. The Second stage utilized the new Cryogenic Second Stage which burned Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen. The first Delta III launch was on August 26, 1998. Of its three flights, the first two were failures, and the third, though declared successful, reached the low end of its targeted orbit range and carried only a dummy (inert) payload. The Delta III could deliver up to 3,810 kg (8,400 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit, twice the payload of its predecessor, the Delta II. Under the four-digit designation system from earlier Delta rockets, the Delta III is classified as the Delta 8930.