Delta IV SHLV

Delta IV Super Heavy EELV

Mission Profile

Delta IV SHLV (Super Heavy Launch Vehicle) was a proposed extreme-performance growth concept for the Delta IV EELV family, studied around 2002 as a potential response to requirements for very heavy payloads. Standing approximately 72 meters tall with a 5.1-meter core diameter and two stages, the SHLV concept would have gone significantly beyond even the Delta IV Heavy's capability through an even more ambitious combination of additional core stages and enhanced propulsion. This design concept was never formally funded or developed, as the Delta IV Heavy already provided sufficient capability for the payload classes then envisioned, and the program's focus remained on supporting operational national security missions rather than pursuing extreme-capability growth.