River watchers got a bit of a sight for the eyes when this past Monday the 310-foot Delta Mariner vessel, maintained by The Boeing Company and on its way to Florida, was passing through Vicksburg on the Mississippi River carrying two boosters for the Delta IV rocket space program. Navigable in deep or shallow drafts, the vessel was launched in 1999 at the Halter Marine Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS. Alliant Techsystems, based in Iuka, MS, built large composite structures used to assemble the family of rockets in Decatur, AL. The rockets usually propel weather and reconnaissance satellites into outer space from launch sites at Cape Canaveral, FL and Vandenberg Air Force Base in CA. The boat was designed as a part of the U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, geared to streamline the cost of space launches. The boosters aboard the Delta Mariner are scheduled to be launched in 2009. Charming, Just Charming!
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Delta Mariner
River watchers got a bit of a sight for the eyes when this past Monday the 310-foot Delta Mariner vessel, maintained by The Boeing Company and on its way to Florida, was passing through Vicksburg on the Mississippi River carrying two boosters for the Delta IV rocket space program. Navigable in deep or shallow drafts, the vessel was launched in 1999 at the Halter Marine Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS. Alliant Techsystems, based in Iuka, MS, built large composite structures used to assemble the family of rockets in Decatur, AL. The rockets usually propel weather and reconnaissance satellites into outer space from launch sites at Cape Canaveral, FL and Vandenberg Air Force Base in CA. The boat was designed as a part of the U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, geared to streamline the cost of space launches. The boosters aboard the Delta Mariner are scheduled to be launched in 2009. Charming, Just Charming!
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