{"id":9621,"date":"2026-02-12T21:49:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/vulcan-suffers-solid-rocket-booster-problem-during-ussf-87-launch\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T21:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:49:41","slug":"vulcan-suffers-solid-rocket-booster-problem-during-ussf-87-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/vulcan-suffers-solid-rocket-booster-problem-during-ussf-87-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Vulcan suffers solid rocket booster problem during USSF-87 launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_72559\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72559\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Plume-Feature-Image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Plume-Feature-Image.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Plume-Feature-Image-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-72559\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An anomalous plume is visible from one of the Vulcan\u2019s solid rocket motors during the launch of the USSF-87 mission on Feb. 12, 2026. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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 the United States Space Force. Despite the problem the rocket, making only its fourth flight, continued on its planned trajectory, the company said.<\/p>\n<p>The 202-foot-tall (61.6 m) rocket thundered away from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 4:22 a.m. EST (0922 UTC) but less than 30 seconds into the flight, there appeared to be a burn through of one of the nozzles on a Northrop Grumman-built graphite epoxy motor (GEM) 63XL solid rocket boosters (SRBs).<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after, as the rocket performed its pitch over maneuver, the vehicle began to roll in a more pronounced way than is typical for this stage of flight. The Vulcan rocket appeared to counteract the anomaly and the SRBs jettisoned as planned at T+ 1 minute, 37 seconds into the flight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had an observation early during flight on one of the four solid rocket motors, the team is currently reviewing the data,\u201d ULA said in a statement roughly an hour after liftoff. \u201cThe booster, upper stage, and spacecraft&nbsp;continued to perform on a nominal trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2021891917672591856&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2026%2F02%2F12%2Fvulcan-suffers-solid-rocket-booster-problem-during-ussf-87-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=703ca8085d747dfe9f8501e0d2db03ff76899fe1&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"2021891917672591856\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The rocket was carrying the USSF-87 mission. It\u2019s a series of payloads for the U.S. Space Force, highlighted by at least one Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellite, though two may be onboard.<\/p>\n<p>ULA leadership said prior to launch that it would be roughly 10 hours from liftoff until the end of the mission, so it might be Thursday afternoon before an update on the status of the payload is given.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_72560\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72560\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Michael-Vulcan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"535\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Michael-Vulcan.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-Michael-Vulcan-300x237.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-72560\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket climbs towards orbit in a shower of sparks from its solid rocket boosters. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This was ULA\u2019s second national security mission following completion of the Vulcan rocket\u2019s certification in March 2025. There are several more on the company\u2019s launch manifest for 2026, including a GPS satellite and satellites for the Space Force\u2019s Space Development Agency.<\/p>\n<p>ULA\u2019s plan for 2026 was to launch 16 to 18 missions with Vulcan. The latter vehicle would launch from both coasts.<\/p>\n<h4>More SRB challenges<\/h4>\n<p>The \u201cobservation\u201d noted on one of the SRBs on Thursday morning\u2019s flight marks the second time in just four flights that ULA ran into a similar issue.<\/p>\n<p>A burn through was noted during the second certification launch of Vulcan back on Oct. 4, 2024. ULA and Northrop Grumman went through a series of tests and analysis to address the anomaly, including a hot fire test in Utah.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the U.S. Space Force deemed Vulcan capable to launch national security payloads for it and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The USSF-106 mission on Aug. 12, 2025, went smoothly, giving ULA leadership confidence in their launch vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of anomalies that we\u2019ve worked through. You all are aware of those. Those are behind us now and so the Vulcan rocket is ready to go,\u201d said John Elbon, the interim CEO of ULA, during a virtual media roundtable on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vd9-1Nlr0gA?si=1tACpWUW8Mg1Ub-v\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An anomalous plume is visible from one of the Vulcan\u2019s 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 [&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":[832,554,676,605,560,363,364],"class_list":["post-9621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-gssap","tag-northrop-grumman","tag-sld-45","tag-space-systems-command","tag-u-s-space-force","tag-ula","tag-vulcan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9621"}],"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=9621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}