United Launch Alliance (ULA) is gearing up for the second test flight of its new Vulcan rocket on September 16, aiming to achieve a flawless mission that could pave the way for the rocket’s first launch for the US military by the year’s end.
The US Space Force has tasked ULA with launching the majority of its space missions in the upcoming years, hoping to address a backlog of 25 military space missions slated for completion by 2027. Successful flights of the Vulcan rocket are crucial before it can be entrusted with national security satellites, as required by the Space Force.
The Vulcan rocket’s debut in January was a notable success, delivering a commercial lunar lander to its intended orbit. The upcoming mission, Cert-2, will be the rocket’s second certification flight. Due to strong pressure to complete this flight, ULA has decided to proceed without a real payload, opting instead for a dummy payload.
This decision was made because the initially planned commercial Dream Chaser spaceplane won’t be ready until next year, leading ULA to prioritize certification over revenue generation for this mission.
ULA’s Second Vulcan Rocket Test Flight Set for September 16, Aiming for Year-End Military Launch
ULA has scheduled the second Vulcan rocket launch for September 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. However, slight adjustments to the schedule may occur as the launch date approaches.
The company recently delivered the second Vulcan rocket to Cape Canaveral from its factory in Alabama for final processing and assembly on a mobile launch platform next month. Meanwhile, the current focus is on the next launch of ULA’s Atlas V rocket, scheduled for July 30.
The Atlas V rocket, currently housed in ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral, is being prepared for its final mission for the US Space Force. This launch will also mark ULA’s 100th national security mission since its inception in 2006.
With 16 Atlas V rockets remaining in ULA’s inventory, the company plans to complete their manufacturing by the end of the year, freeing up factory space to increase production of Vulcan launch vehicles. Following the Atlas V launch, ULA will begin assembling the second Vulcan rocket and conduct a countdown rehearsal in August.
Most of the remaining Atlas V rockets are allocated for missions like Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft astronaut missions. If the second Vulcan test flight is successful, ULA aims to launch its 101st national security mission by year-end, using the Vulcan rocket for the USSF-106 mission.
This mission will deploy an experimental satellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory to test next-generation satellite navigation technologies, marking a significant step for ULA’s Vulcan program and its role in national security space missions.
