In the very early morning hours on Thursday, the United Launch Alliance is set to launch its most powerful rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, lofting a classified spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mission could be the first of three back-to-back launches out of the Cape, too, with SpaceX set to launch a mission on Friday and then another on Sunday.
Such a cluster of missions is a rare event for the Florida spaceport. “It could be a historic event for us this week — lots of things going on,” Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander, of the 45th Space Wing that oversees launches out of the Cape, said during a press call.
The rocket going up on ULA’s mission is the Delta IV Heavy, a giant vehicle that consists of…