Delta 2000

The Delta 2000 used an upgraded first stage powered by the Rocketdyne RS-27 engine, which replaced the older MB-3 engine used in earlier Delta variants. The RS-27 produced approximately 200,000 pounds of thrust and burned kerosene and liquid oxygen.

The Delta 2000 was built by McDonnell Douglas as part of the long-running Delta rocket family, which originated as a derivative of the Thor ballistic missile. The Delta 2000 series was introduced in 1974 as a modernized version of earlier Delta configurations.

The Delta 2000 series launched several communications satellites for international customers, including ITOS and Landsat weather and Earth-observation spacecraft for NASA and NOAA. Several launches in the mid-1970s successfully delivered payloads to orbit using both Delta 2000 and the upgraded Delta 3000 variant.

The Delta 2000 was a precursor to the much more successful Delta II, which debuted in 1989 with a more powerful Castor 4A or GEM solid rocket booster package. The Delta 2000 helped establish the design lineage and reliability record that McDonnell Douglas later leveraged for the Delta II program, which became one of NASA's most frequently used launch vehicles.