Delta E

This article is about the rocket. For the difference between colours, see color difference.

The Delta E, or Thor-Delta E was an American expendable launch system used for twenty-three orbital launches between 1965 and 1971. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.^[1]

Launch of a Delta E with Pioneer 6
Function	Expendable launch system
Country of origin	United States
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral LC-17 Vandenberg SLC-2E
Total launches	23
Success(es)	23
First flight	6 November 1965
Last flight	1 April 1971

The first stage was a Thor missile in the DSV-2C configuration, and the second stage was the Delta-E, which was derived from the earlier Delta-A.^[2][3][4] Three Castor-1 solid rocket boosters were clustered around the first stage. Two different solid-fuel upper stages were available; an Altair-2 was used on the baseline version, however this could be replaced with an FW-4D to increase performance. A Delta E with the FW-4D upper stage was designated Delta E1. Six flights used the Delta E configuration and seventeen used the Delta E1.^[5][6]

Delta E rockets were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17 and Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 2E. All 23 flights were successful. On December 16 1965, a Delta E launched the Pioneer 6 space probe.^[1][4]