{"id":24266,"date":"2023-06-07T19:14:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T11:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/vulcan-being-readied-for-maiden-launch-with-testing-at-slc-41\/"},"modified":"2023-06-07T19:14:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T11:14:48","slug":"vulcan-being-readied-for-maiden-launch-with-testing-at-slc-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/vulcan-being-readied-for-maiden-launch-with-testing-at-slc-41\/","title":{"rendered":"Vulcan being readied for maiden launch with testing at SLC-41"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Action finally returned to the United Launch Alliance\u2019s (ULA) Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) as the Vulcan-Centaur rocket rolled out to the pad on May 11 for further testing ahead of its debut flight. This was followed by Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) testing that initially required a rollback before attempting again on June 7, successfully.<\/p>\n<p>These events come as ULA enters the home stretch in its preparations for the inaugural launch of its Vulcan-Centaur launch vehicle. Vulcan is designed to replace both Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy, which are currently being phased out.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Vulcan Cert-1 Flight Readiness Firing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aWn3v4j5aTg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>ULA began the morning on May 11 with the rollout of the upcoming Vulcan rocket from the vertical integration facility (VIF), which is located inside the perimeter of SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Ahead of ULA launches from SLC-41, Atlas V and Vulcan rockets are stacked vertically inside the VIF atop mobile launch platforms. By midday, Vulcan arrived at the launch pad, which has been modified to launch both Atlas V and Vulcan. Once at the pad, the mobile launch platform was integrated with the existing pad infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to ULA using SLC-41 for Vulcan in Florida, the company is in the process of converting their west coast Atlas V pad, SLC-3 for Vulcan operations out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93506\" class=\" wp-image-93506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-350x280.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1095\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-350x280.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-438x350.jpeg 438w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-768x614.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-1920x1536.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737-1170x936.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1737.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1095px) 100vw, 1095px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-93506\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Delta IV Heavy center core for the NROL-70 mission rolls through Cape Canaveral on May 11. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)<\/p>\n<p>As Vulcan was rolling out of the VIF, the center core and Delta Cryogenic Second Stage for the final Delta IV Heavy mission was hauled off of ULA\u2019s <em>Rocketship<\/em> from the dock in Port Canaveral. Both spray-on foam insulation (SOFI) orange-colored Delta IV Heavy side core boosters remained on board ULA\u2019s transport ship and will be offloaded at a later date.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Vulcan Updates<\/li>\n<li>ULA Forum Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 Historical&nbsp;Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The penultimate launch of Delta IV Heavy is scheduled to liftoff from Space Launch Complex 37B no earlier than the end of this month for the NROL-68 mission. The final flight of Delta IV Heavy and any Delta rocket, NROL-70, is scheduled to launch in 2024 from the same pad.<\/p>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>Teams at Cape Canaveral are put Vulcan-Centaur through a final launch day dress rehearsal. Activities include cryogenic propellant loading operations on both the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur V second stage, which is meant to simulate launch day operations in the countdown prior to BE-4 engine ignition. Component and subsystem tests were also being performed on the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>CEO Tory Bruno noted the successful completion of the tanking tests, with ULA is aiming to perform the flight readiness firing of Vulcan\u2019s twin Blue Origin BE-4 engines.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1666612689643159552&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2023%2F06%2Fvulcan-dress-rehearsal%2F&amp;sessionId=14a82fcbe6ec9c206102de5c97086ec3350f4127&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1666612689643159552\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496659974776847=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">STATIC FIRE! Vulcan conducts its first ignition of its BE-4 engines during the Flight Readiness Firing (Cert-1).https:\/\/t.co\/6FHkldnYri pic.twitter.com\/SpZAWLgl0T<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Bergin \u2013 NSF (@NASASpaceflight) June 8, 2023<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This was the first time that two BE-4 engines were fired at the same time and while integrated with a launch vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>The first attempt in early June was aborted, as an issue with the igniters on the BE-4\u2019s required a rollback, before heading back to SLC-41 on June 7.<\/p>\n<p>During the Space Shuttle program, flight readiness firings were carried out before the maiden flight of each of the orbiters. According to ULA CEO Tory Bruno, ULA intends to livestream the Vulcan flight readiness firing.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 680px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1657079430475309069&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2023%2F06%2Fvulcan-dress-rehearsal%2F&amp;sessionId=14a82fcbe6ec9c206102de5c97086ec3350f4127&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1657079430475309069\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4 is an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle engine, the first for a domestically-produced U.S. engine, and runs on liquid oxygen and liquid methane. A reusable version of the BE-4 will be used on the first stage of Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn launch vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>This particular Vulcan-Centaur stack has been at the pad for testing back on March 10, the vehicle completed a first-stage tanking demonstration. After this, Vulcan was rolled back into the VIF. Both Vulcan and Centaur V were integrated at the VIF back in late January and into early February. Before this Vulcan was stacked in the VIF, a pathfinder first-stage was also used for testing, which will later be refurbished to fly a mission.<\/p>\n<p>On the maiden voyage of Vulcan, the vehicle will launch with Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lander and the first two Kuiper constellation internet satellites for Kuiper LLC, which is a subsidiary of Amazon. Vulcan will also carry the cremated remains of approximately 150 people on Celestis\u2019 \u201cEnterprise Flight\u201d mission. The remains include those from American actress Nichelle Nichols, who played the character of Lt. Uhura on Star Trek.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 250px; height: 361px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1646572389193625600&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2023%2F06%2Fvulcan-dress-rehearsal%2F&amp;sessionId=14a82fcbe6ec9c206102de5c97086ec3350f4127&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1646572389193625600\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In late March, a Centaur V test article at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama suffered an anomaly that resulted in a loss of the test article and damage to the test stand. According to Tory Bruno on Twitter, the test consisted of \u201cextreme structural load testing of various worst possible conditions.\u201d Bruno also stated that the anomaly resulted in a hydrogen leak, which eventually found a source of ignition, leading to an overpressure event.<\/p>\n<p>This overpressure event caused a cave-in on the forward dome of the test article and subsequent damage to the test stand. It is unclear how exactly this anomaly has affected the preparations for Vulcan\u2019s debut flight, which has been designated Cert-1.<\/p>\n<p>Centaur V features numerous improvements over the Centaur III, which is currently used on the Atlas V. This includes increased thrust and specific impulse. Furthermore, the Centaur V will fly with two Aerojet Rocketdyne RL-10 engines as standard, while Centaur III typically uses just one single RL10 engine, except for Boeing CST-100 Starliner missions, which utilize two.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: The Cert-1 Vulcan-Centaur stack rolls out to the pad at SLC-41 on May 11. Credit: United Launch Alliance)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZkhVhUsu65M<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Action finally returned to the United Launch Alliance\u2019s (ULA) Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) as the Vulcan-Centaur rocket rolled out to the pad on May 11 for further testing ahead of its debut flight. This was followed by Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) testing that initially required a rollback before attempting again on June 7, successfully. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7903,1414,728,363,364],"class_list":["post-24266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-centaur-v","tag-delta-iv-heavy","tag-slc-41","tag-ula","tag-vulcan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24266"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}