CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The United Launch Alliance's Delta II was honored with a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday as it was added to the Rocket Garden public exhibit at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

What You Need To Know

  • Delta II rocket is now part of the historic Rocket Garden

  • Delta IIs went up 155 times from 1989-2018

  • Among the payloads it sent into space were GPS satellites and NASA rovers

  • The Rocket Garden is a public exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

The Delta II rocket became the first to take a spot in the Rocket Garden since the early 2000s.

Delta II rockets launched 155 times from 1989-2018. They were used to carry the satellites used for the Global Positioning System (GPS) and enabled the exploration of Mars as the rocket that put NASA’s rovers Spirit and Opportunity and the Phoenix Mars Lander into space.

“While IceSat-2 marked its final mission in 2018, Delta II’s legacy will live on in the technology and exploration it delivered for nearly 30 years, including GPS and the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers,” ULA President and Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno said. “We are excited to honor the legacy of the Delta II and pay tribute to the people who designed, built and launched it for nearly three decades.”

The Delta II joins rockets and space vehicles from NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and will help visitors learn about its contribution to life on Earth, science, and exploration. Other rockets featured in the Rocket Garden include the ULA-heritage Delta-Thor, Juno I and Juno II, Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas and Atlas-Agena, Gemini-Titan II and the Saturn 1B launch vehicles.