Tag: ULA
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Space Force considers Vulcan flights minus solid boosters
Can Vulcan launch military payloads without its solid rocket boosters? The U.S. Space Force is evaluating whether United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur can fly lower-energy national security missions without solid rocket motors (SRMs) as the investigation into a recent solid booster anomaly continues to ground the rocket’s full-performance configuration. This contingency planning reflects the military’s…
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Pentagon Eyes Vulcan Issues for Next Launch Competition
How Will Vulcan’s Reliability Issues Reshape Pentagon Launch Strategy? United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket faces its second grounding in less than two years, and a Space Force three-star general confirmed Tuesday that these reliability issues will “absolutely” influence the Pentagon’s next launch services competition. Despite a backlog of nearly 70 missions, Vulcan has completed just…
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Launch Preview: SLS, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Soyuz launches comprise busy launch manifest
Nine launches are scheduled this week, with rockets expected to liftoff from Florida, California, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China. Most notably, NASA’s long-awaited Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch the first humans to the Moon in over 50 years on Wednesday. SpaceX has four Starlink missions scheduled for the week, with Falcon 9 launching two…
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Launch Preview: Russia to debut Soyuz-5; Falcon 9 and Atlas V to launch internet satellites
The United States, Russia, China, New Zealand, and Norway are all set to host launches during another busy week of spaceflight. SpaceX is set to launch three missions from its Florida and California launch facilities, while the United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch Amazon Leo satellites on its Atlas V rocket toward the end…
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ULA’s Vulcan Rocket Completes Space Force Mission Despite Booster Anomaly
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket successfully carried multiple U.S. Space Force payloads to geosynchronous orbit on Feb. 12, despite encountering a performance anomaly with one of its solid rocket boosters early in flight, the company said. The mission, designated USSF-87, lifted off shortly after 4 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on…
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Vulcan suffers solid rocket booster problem during USSF-87 launch
An anomalous plume is visible from one of the Vulcan’s solid rocket motors during the launch of the USSF-87 mission on Feb. 12, 2026. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. United Launch Alliance said an issue affected one of the four solid rocket boosters that helped propel its Vulcan rocket into space Thursday on a mission for…
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ULA sets sights on ramping up launch cadence in 2026
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket rolls from the Government Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-G) to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Vulcan will launch the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC). Image: United Launch Alliance On the cusp of launching its…
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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 to launch geosynchronous orbit surveillance satellite for the U.S. Space Force
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, designation V-005, is seen at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station prior to the launch of the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now United Launch Alliance is gearing up for a predawn launch of its Vulcan rocket on…
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Blue Origin hires United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno to head its national security group
United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno, shown here at the Space Symposium in 2016, is joining Blue Origin. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Eleven years after United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno partnered with Blue Origin to create a new rocket engine, he’s joining Jeff Bezos’ space venture as the president of Blue Origin’s newly…