The three Common Booster Cores and cryogenic upper stage for California's first Delta 4-Heavy rocket arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base by ship in September 2009. The rocket segments were then assembled at the Horizontal Integration Facility and transported to Space Launch Complex 6 in January 2010. There, the Delta 4-Heavy rocket was erected vertically using hydraulic pistons in preparation for its critical national security satellite launch.

5. California's first Delta 4-Heavy arrives at Vandenberg AFB, CA The three Common Booster Cores and the cryogenic upper stage to comprise the West Coast's first Delta 4-Heavy rocket arrives aboard the Delta Mariner shipping vessel at Vandenberg Air Force Base's harbor in September 2009 after a month-long, 4,000-mile voyage from the factory in Alabama, including a trip through the Panama Canal. The rocket segments were transported up the road to Space Launch Complex 6 and the Horizontal Integration Facility for assembly.

21. SLC-6 receives its first Delta 4-Heavy rocket The assembled Delta 4-Heavy rocket is transported from the Horizontal Integration Facility to the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 6 in January 2010 to begin extensive testing and preparation for the first West Coast flight of the massive vehicle.

34. Delta 4-Heavy rocket goes vertical at SLC-6 The fixed pad erector uses hydraulic pistons to lift the Delta 4-Heavy rocket upright and place the vehicle atop the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 6 in January 2010. The action occurs inside the protective confines of the mobile assembly shelter that shrouds the pad

53. Massive Delta rocket nearly ready for launch These images show the Delta 4-Heavy rocket as workers retracted an assembly shelter on the eve of blastoff from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The triple-body launcher will send a classified U.S. spy satellite into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

58. Delta 4-Heavy rocket revealed for launch at VAFB The Delta 4-Heavy rocket is unveiled for its critical national security satellite launch as the mobile service gantry is retracted from the mammoth booster at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 6. 19 January 2011

62. Launch Rocket: Delta 4-Heavy Payload: NROL-49 Date: Jan. 20, 2011 Time: 1:08 p.m. PST (4:08 p.m. EST) Site: SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.