{"id":9886,"date":"2025-03-28T00:56:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/u-s-space-force-certifies-ulas-vulcan-rocket-to-begin-launching-national-security-missions\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T00:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:56:19","slug":"u-s-space-force-certifies-ulas-vulcan-rocket-to-begin-launching-national-security-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/u-s-space-force-certifies-ulas-vulcan-rocket-to-begin-launching-national-security-missions\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Space Force certifies ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket to begin launching national security missions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Vulcan climbs away from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly after sunrise on Oct. 4, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an announcement highly anticipated by United Launch Alliance and others in the spaceflight community, the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Assured Access to Space (AATS) office affirmed that the Vulcan rocket is now fully certified to launch national security payloads.<\/p>\n

The completion of this multi-year process means that the USSF\u2019s Space Systems Command can begin launching National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions on the two-stage, heavy-lift rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssured access to space is a core function of the Space Force and a critical element of national security,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for AAST, in a statement. \u201cVulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation\u2019s most critical space-based systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

ULA and the U.S. Air Force forged a plan for the certification of Vulcan in September 2016. Years of development led to the rocket first certification flight (Cert-1) in January 2024 when it launched the Peregrine-1 mission on behalf of Astrobotic and NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.<\/p>\n

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ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket launches on its first certification flight, carrying Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lunar lander onboard. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Initially, ULA wanted to fly Sierra Space\u2019s Dream Chaser on its Cert-2 mission, but the winged spaceship wasn\u2019t ready in time. Instead, it pivoted to a launch in October carrying no payload to fulfill the need for a second certification flight.<\/p>\n

It was during that flight that one of the rocket\u2019s two solid rocket boosters, a Northrop Grumman GEM 63XL, experienced a burn through less than a minute into flight, which resulted in the liberation of the nozzle. ULA was able to complete its mission as intended, but the anomaly resulted in a month\u2019s long investigation into the root cause.<\/p>\n

ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno announced the conclusion of that investigation during a media roundtable in Washington D.C. on March 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have isolated the root cause, appropriate corrective actions and those were qualified and confirmed in a full-scale static motor firing in Utah last month,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cWe are back in continuing to fabricate hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruno said there was a manufacturing defect in one of the internal parts of the nozzle. ULA posted a nearly 12-minute video on YouTube that walked through their diagnosis process and showed a clip of the aforementioned static fire test.<\/p>\n