US EditionAt long last, the Space Force has certified the Vulcan rocket
- On March 26, 2025, the U.S. Space Force certified United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket for national security missions after launches in January and October of 2024.
- The certification of Vulcan, intended to replace ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, was delayed due to an explosion during testing in spring 2023 and a nozzle failure on a solid rocket booster during its second certification launch in October 2024.
- Vulcan's certification involved the Space Force and ULA validating the rocket met 52 certification criteria, including design and test reviews and audits of hardware and software, and allows ULA to begin working through a backlog of 24 missions from National Security Space Launch task orders.
- ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno stated that Vulcan is uniquely designed to meet the challenging requirements of U.S. National security space launches, expressing gratitude to customer partners for their collaboration throughout the certification process, while Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen of Space Systems Command noted the teamwork involved.
- With Vulcan certified, ULA can now compete with SpaceX and Blue Origin for future NSSL Phase 3 contracts, aiming for a baseline tempo of two launches a month by the end of the year and 20 launches next year, while also preparing an Atlas V launch for Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Boeing-Lockheed's Vulcan Rocket Aimed To Rival SpaceX's Falcon 9 Cleared For US Security Missions
The U.S. Space Force has approved the Vulcan rocket, a rocket manufactured by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) and Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT), to launch national security satellites. What Happened: The Vulcan rocket, designed to replace the Atlas V and compete with SpaceX‘s Falcon 9, received its certification after a successful second flight, despite a minor explosion in one of its boosters, a…
After years of delays, Space Force certifies ULA’s Vulcan rocket
United Launch Alliance had its new Vulcan rocket certified Wednesday by Space Force so it can begin flying national security missions — nearly three years after it was supposed to debut. The replacement for ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets faced several delays after being chosen in 2020 as one of two main providers, along with SpaceX, to fly $8.5 billion in missions under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. Those missions were d…
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