Successful launch of a ULA Delta IV heavy rocket carrying a critical NRO payload from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance (ULA). On April 27, Northrop Grumman Corp. (Falls Church, Va., U.S.) supported the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV heavy rocket, contributing a total of 11 key large composite structures. The rocket launched a national security payload, designated NROL-82, for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in support of a national defense mission. “The successful launch of this Delta IV rocket demonstrates the reliability of our large composite aerospace structures,” says Wendy Williams, vice president, aerospace structures, Northrop Grumman. “We play a vital role with the NRO and ULA, as we have for decades, by providing key launch vehicle structures and propulsion and control subsystems in support of national security missions.”