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Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What to know: ULA Vulcan rocket to launch national security mission from Cape Canaveral
It's been awhile since Florida has seen a Vulcan rocket launch, but United Launch Alliance is pushing ahead to break that drought. While an official launch date is yet to come, ULA has announced the upcoming USSF-106 mission for the Space Force. The company has also teased photos of the red and white Vulcan rocket in the process of being stacked for launch. The long awaited liftoff will be from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As it is a national security mission, the payload remains undisclosed. When did a Vulcan last launch? How long has it been since we've seen this rocket? The last Vulcan launch was the Space Force certification flight in October 2024. Now that the new rocket has been cleared to fly national security payloads, the Space Coast awaits a launch date for this rocket's third flight. "From its inception, the Vulcan rocket was designed to deliver heavy payloads to any orbit. The upcoming USSF-106 mission utilizes this capability with Centaur V launching a multi-manifest U.S. national security payload directly to geosynchronous orbit for the Space Force," United Launch Alliance posted to its website July 15. The Centaur V is the Vulcan's upper stage, which is designed to reach unusual orbits for these national security missions. "The basic architecture of the rocket is really focused on these unique orbits," ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters in March. "An example would be directly injecting into geosynchronous orbit − a mission really the government does." A geosynchronous orbit is one which orbits alongside Earth's 24-hour rotation, with the spacecraft staying above the same longitude. The first time a Vulcan launched was in January 2024. What is the Vulcan replacing? While ULA still launches its Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, the Vulcan is designed to replace both Atlas V and the now retired Delta IV. It will become ULA's main workhorse rocket. On top of missions for the Space Force, Vulcan will also fly payloads such as Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites. The long awaited Dream Chaser space plane is also on the manifest, but no launch day yet. Vulcan is designed to fly with two, four, or six solid rocket boosters, or none at all. ULA says to look for four solid rocket boosters propelling this upcoming mission off the launch pad. What happened during the ULA Vulcan rocket launch in Florida last fall? During Vulcan's last launch in October 2024, sparks were seen by spectators approximately 38 seconds into the flight. It was later revealed that an issue within one of the solid rocket boosters caused the light show. The issue did not impact the mission, with the payload reaching orbit. The incident was investigated by ULA to understand the root cause. In March 2025, the Vulcan rocket received certification from the U.S. Space Force to fly national security missions. When is the next Florida launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team for the latest from Cape Canaveral. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What to know: ULA Vulcan rocket to launch mission from Cape Canaveral Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
ULA's Vulcan rocket certified by Space Force to fly national security missions
After launching on its certification flight back in October 2024, United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket has finally received approval by the United States Space Force to fly national security missions. 'Thank you to all our customer partners who have worked hand-in-hand with us throughout this comprehensive certification process. We are grateful for the collaboration and excited to reach this critical milestone in Vulcan development,' Tory Bruno, ULA CEO, said in a Wednesday news release. National security missions are the main purpose of ULA's new workhorse rocket, which will eventually replace both the Atlas V rocket and the already retired Delta IV. 'Vulcan is uniquely designed to meet the challenging requirements demanded by an expanding spectrum of missions for U.S. national security space launches," said Bruno. When is the next Florida launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral ULA and the Space Force team have completed 52 certification criteria, the news release said. This includes: more than 180 distinct tasks, two certification flights (January and October of 2024), 60 payload interface requirement verifications, 18 subsystem design and test reviews, and 114 hardware and software audits. What sets Vulcan apart from other rockets, according to ULA, is its powerful Centaur V upper-stage, which allows it to fly complex orbital missions. 'Vulcan's Centaur upper stage is a high-velocity and maneuverable platform to address evolving on-orbit threats in this new space warfighting domain and will offer extreme on-orbit endurance and flexibility,' Bruno is quoted in the release. The road has not been without bumps for ULA. During Vulcan's second launch for Space Force certification on Oct. 4, 2024, spectators near Cape Canaveral witnessed an anomaly shortly after liftoff. About 38 seconds after launch, a bright flash, followed by sparks, were seen coming from the side of the rocket. While the flight successfully continued, reaching orbit, the issue was investigated by ULA and teams to understand the root cause. The investigation found that there was an issue inside the nozzle on the solid rocket booster. Unlike SpaceX Falcon 9 — which is fully liquid propellant — ULA's Vulcan rocket utilizes solid rocket boosters at liftoff. According to Bruno, a manufacturing defect on a part in the engine nozzle of the solid rocket motor was to blame for the October incident. He said they are taking corrective actions for future flights. Vulcan will be able to fly with two, four, or six solid rocket boosters. It will also be able to fly without any additional boost from solid rocket boosters at all. Between the remaining Atlas V rockets and upcoming Vulcan launches, ULA has 70 launches on its manifest. Some 47 of these will be for Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites. For now, there is not currently a set launch date for ULA's Vulcan or Atlas V. Bruno stated earlier in March that Vulcan will fly later in the year. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: ULA's Vulcan rocket certified by U.S. Space Force to launch missions
