Tag: Centaur
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ULA launches first mission of 2026 with USSF-87 aboard Vulcan – SRB issue observed
United Launch Alliance launched its first mission of 2026 with the USSF-87 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Vulcan Centaur V-005, with four solid rocket boosters in the VC4S configuration, launched on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 4:22 AM EST (09:22 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 41. One SRB appeared to have another…
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ULA hasn’t given up on developing a long-lived cryogenic space tug
The second flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, planned for Friday morning, has a primary goal of validating the launcher’s reliability for delivering critical US military satellites to orbit. Tory Bruno, ULA’s chief executive, told reporters Wednesday that he is “supremely confident” the Vulcan rocket will succeed in accomplishing that objective. The Vulcan’s second…
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ULA’s Vulcan launches second certification flight
Currently scheduled to launch on Friday, Oct. 4, the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) heavy-lift Vulcan rocket is ready to fly on its second certification mission for the United States Space Force. The mission, named Certification Flight 2 or simply Cert-2, is expected to launch from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Space…
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Atlas 5 valve repair will delay Starliner’s first crewed mission to May 17 at the earliest
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 N22 rocket with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on top as seen the day before its planned May 6 launch. A problematic valve in the Centaur upper stage of the rocket caused the mission to scrub two hours before liftoff. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is going to…
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Vulcan successfully launches Peregrine lunar lander on inaugural flight
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has done its part in returning the US to the Moon with the launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander atop its brand-new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Cert-1, The first-ever mission for Vulcan, lifted off on Monday, Jan. 8 at 2:18 AM EST (7:18 AM UTC) during a 45-minute launch window. It took…
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Vulcan successfully launches Peregrine lunar lander on inaugural flight
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has done its part in returning the US to the Moon with the launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander atop its brand-new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Cert-1, The first-ever mission for Vulcan, lifted off on Monday, Jan. 8 at 2:18 AM EST (7:18 AM UTC) during a 45-minute launch window. It took…
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ULA ready for inaugural Vulcan flight
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing for the inaugural flight of its new Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is currently scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024, at 2:18 AM EST (07:18 UTC). Onboard this first flight will be Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, part…
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ULA ready for inaugural Vulcan flight
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing for the inaugural flight of its new Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is currently scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024, at 2:18 AM EST (07:18 UTC). Onboard this first flight will be Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, part…
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Inaugural Vulcan Launch Targeting Late 2023 After Anomalies
United Launch Alliance (ULA) says despite recent anomalies involving their Centaur V upper stage and the BE-4 engines built by Blue Origin, Vulcan should still fly this year, although behind schedule. Vulcan is ULA’s successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV heavy-lift rocket families, both of which are scheduled to be retired. The new…
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ULA shipping Vulcan upper stage back to factory for more work
United Launch Alliance technicians at Cape Canaveral, Florida, have partially disassembled the first Vulcan rocket to send the launch vehicle’s upper stage back to its factory for reinforcements to its paper-thin steel fuel tank. A test article for the Vulcan rocket’s Centaur V upper stage exploded on March 29 during a structural test at NASA’s…