United Launch Alliance has announced their Vulcan rocket is progressing towards its maiden launch as soon as early-2021. While an exact launch target isn\u2019t known yet, the mission will use a newly-built Launch Umbilical Tower while sharing Atlas V\u2019s Vertical Integration Facility and SLC-41 launch pad in Florida.<\/p>\n
When first announced in 2014 as a \u201cnew booster,\u201d ULA stated that Vulcan\u2019s first flight was targeting 2019. Given an early-2021 target in mid-2020, that is the rocket-world equivalent of \u201cremarkably on-time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vulcan\u2019s history:<\/b><\/p>\n
The need for Vulcan began in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in what was internationally considered an illegal taking of sovereign Ukranian land. <\/p>\n
As part of its response, the United States Congress redirected the U.S. Air Force to stop relying on Russian rocket engines for U.S. launchers. The issue here was that United Launch Alliance\u2019s (ULA\u2019s) workhorse, the Atlas V was \u2014 at the time \u2014 the preferred launch vehicle for NASA\u2019s scientific and U.S. military payloads\u2026 and it used the RD-180, an NPO Energomash \u2014 Russian made \u2014 engine. <\/p>\n