View source for Delta II rocket

==Overview== 

[[Image:delta_liftoff.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The launch of the Mars Global Surveyor onboard a McDonnell Douglas-built [[Delta II]]-7925 rocket on November 7, 1996 from [[Cape Canaveral Air Station]], Florida]] 

'''Delta II''' [[rocket]] systems were used in a variety of applications. 

'''Delta II''' have been phased out.  The rocket flew its final mission ICESat-2 on 15 September 2018, earning the launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row, with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_II</ref>.  It is a configuration of the original [[Thor-Delta]] family of launch vehicles which were based on the [[Thor]] [[ICBM]] of the 1950's. 

During the development of the [[Space Shuttle]] program, expendables such as [[Delta]], [[Atlas]] and [[Titan]] were phased out. The [[Challenger]] accident (January 28, 1986), spurred renewed investment in [[expendable launch vehicle]]s such as the ''Delta II''. 

''Delta II'' rockets have successfully launched over 125 missions into Earth [[orbit]] including several Mars missions: 

*[[Mars Global Surveyor]] (1996)
*[[Mars Pathfinder]] (1996)
*[[Mars Climate Orbiter]] (1998)
*[[Mars Polar Lander]] (1999)
*[[Mars Odyssey]] (2001)
*[[Mars Exploration Rovers]] - [[Spirit]] and [[Opportunity]] (2003)
*[[Phoenix]] (2007)

==External links== 

*[http://kevinforsyth.net/delta/ Delta II history]
*[http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm Boeing Integrated Defense Systems]

== References ==
[[category:Exploration Transport Systems]]
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