24.10.2024
ULA begins stacking Vulcan rocket in anticipation of first national security mission
United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan first stage booster into the Vertical Integration Facility-G (VIF-G) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket will launch the USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, Vulcan’s first national security flight. Image: United Launch Alliance
Less than a month after the second of two planned certification launches, United Launch Alliance is getting a Vulcan rocket ready for its first national security mission: United States Space Force 106 (USSF-106).
On Monday, ULA shared photos of the 109.2-foot-long (33.3 m) booster being hoisted into the Vertical Integration Facility to begin the stacking process. In the days and possibly weeks to come, the 38.5-foot-long (11.7 m) Centaur 5 upper stage will be added along with four solid rocket boosters and the payload fairings.
The beginning of the rocket’s integration comes as the U.S. Space Force continues to review data from the Cert-2 mission, which launched on Oct. 4 from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
“You don’t have to be certified before you start all of the activities that are involved in getting a payload ready and planning its mission and integrating it,” said ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno during a media teleconference prior to the launch of Cert-2. “That work is already underway. We just can’t fly it until we’re certified and I would say my customer would be reluctant to physically integrate it to the rocket, stick it on the rocket until that is done either.”
During an Oct. 14 appearance at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, Bruno discussed the issue that came up with one of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) during the Cert-2 flight less than a minute after liftoff.
The booster’s nozzle popped off, forcing the rocket to adjust the output from the Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines to compensate. He noted that the SRB in question continued to fire, but with less efficiency than normal, according to Space News.
“The net effect of that was less than two percent of the total impulse of the booster,” Bruno said.
ULA confirmed the investigation is ongoing. The company has a total of 35 SRBs being stored for future missions, which are a combination of GEM 63s for Atlas 5 rockets and GEM 63XLs for Vulcan rockets.
During his prelaunch remarks, Bruno said the anticipated timeline to full certification shouldn’t be long, if they had a “very clean mission.” He said in that scenario, “it’s a short number of weeks to get it all done,” referring to the analysis required for certification.
Because the Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane wasn’t ready in time for the Cert-2 launch, ULA completed that mission with an inert payload that included some experiments designed to gather data on the performance of the Centaur 5 upper stage.
The USSF-106 mission will feature the first fully-government payload that ULA will fly on a Vulcan rocket. While the Cert-1 launch featuring Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander was part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and featured some NASA payloads, it was explicitly considered as a commercial mission.
Nevertheless, with the successful completion of the Cert-1 mission, NASA said ULA can begin offering up Vulcan for consideration for NASA missions under the NASA Launch Services 2 (NLS-2) contract.
“The requirements for proposing on NLS-II task orders are to be on the contract and have had one successful flight,” said Jorge Piquero, the Senior Technical Integration Manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), in an emailed statement to Spaceflight Now. “Certification is not required to bid, but will be required by the time of the awarded mission’s launch.”
As for what the U.S. Space Force is looking for through the certification process to fly missions for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, the Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS) program office described its approach as follows:
“The Government worked with industry to jointly develop a certification plan that outlines a three-phase approach with 25 different major categories that encompass process assessment, design and qualification hardware and software evaluation, launch site assessments, and verification and validation to meet USSF mission requirements for all mission orbits. The USSF currently expects the completion of all Vulcan certification activities in 2024.”
Vulcan’s NSSL era
Once certification is complete for the Vulcan rocket, there are two missions on deck: USSF-106 and USSF-87. ULA said it’s “working with our customers to determine the launch dates.”
Back in January, in a joint statement to Spaceflight Now, Col. Doug Pentecost, the SSC’s Deputy Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space, and Michael Sanjume, the senior materiel leader for Vulcan Systems and Operations, said that the USSF-106 mission would be a multi-manifest mission.
Onboard this first flight of a certified Vulcan rocket will be the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) and another undisclosed payload for the U.S. Space Force.
The NTS-3 spacecraft is based on Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar satellite bus and was developed by L3Harris Technologies. Once on orbit, it will be managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Transformational Capabilities Office.
The AFRL said it features an agile positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) payload “to provide a space platform for AFRL and partner organization experiments and integrated capability demonstrations.” The spacecraft is designed to operate for one year in a near-geosynchronous orbit.
“NTS-3 builds on the legacy of NTS-1 and NTS-2, which were launched in the 1970’s, and it will push the boundary of today’s space-based position, navigation, and timing (PNT) technology to pave the way for a more robust, resilient, and responsive architecture for satellite navigation (SATNAV) technology,” the AFRL said in a statement.
The satellite serves as a backstop for the U.S. Space Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) by creating resiliency against attempts to jam or spoof GPS. The NTS-3 features multiple atomic clocks to allow for “automatic clock error detection and correction” since the satellite’s SATNAV is “critically dependent on precise timekeeping.”
The Navigation Technology Satellite-3, or NTS-3, spacecraft is shown in an anechoic test chamber prior to electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility testing in Palm Bay, Florida. This experimental satellite is being designed, built and tested by L3Harris Technologies, and will be used by the Air Force Research Laboratory and partner organizations as part of an integrated system to conduct a one-year demonstration of advanced technologies and concepts in satellite navigation. Image: L3Harris Technologies
The AFRL said there are three mutually-interdependent systems that tie into the NTS-3 demonstration mission:
- A space-based experimental satellite
- Ground-based command and control system
- Agile software-defined user receivers (SDR)
“Ultimately, user equipment is where the impact of new navigation technologies and integrated SATNAV capabilities are felt by our warfighters and any changes to the signal being broadcast from space must be communicated to and coordinated with the user segment,” the AFRL wrote.
“NTS-3 will demonstrate new SDR features and the ability to effectively perform on-orbit reprogramming across system segments during the experimental mission, including various signal modulations, transmitting data in different ways, and changing broadcast parameters on a pre-defined schedule.”
According to L3Harris, the satellite features five main components:
- Active Electronically Steerable Phased Array (AESA)
- Agile Waveform Platform (AWP), consisting of Enhanced Signal Processors (ESP) and Ground Mission Applications (GMA)
- Cion Antenna/Receiver, created in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Hosted Payload Processor (HP2)
- Modular, Scalable Bus-agnostic Payload
While the exact price of the mission is proprietary to ULA, according to the original task order awardannounced in August 2020, the two mission awarded to ULA at the time (USSF-51 and USSF-106) had a combined value of $337 million.
In the batter’s box
Following the USSF-106 mission will be USSF-87, which was originally scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of FY23, according to the SSC’s original announcement of its assignment to ULA in March 2021.
As first reported by Aviation Week, the payload for this mission is expected to be a pair of satellites for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP).
“GSSAP satellites collect space situational awareness data allowing for more accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects,” according to the U.S. Space Force. “From a near-geosynchronous orbit, it has a clear, unobstructed and distinct vantage point for viewing Resident Space Objects (RSOs) without the interruption of weather or the atmospheric distortion that can limit ground-based systems.”
The first pair of these satellites was launched from Cape Canaveral more than a decade ago on July 28, 2014, and achieved operational capability status on Sept. 29, 2015. Since then there have been two additional launches of satellite pairs in 2016 and 2022.
An Aug. 2023 press release from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Operations Command (SpOC) announced that two additional launches were scheduled for 2024 and 2027.
“The capabilities provided by GSSAP aid safety and enable avoidance as we operate in space,” said Mr. Mike Anthony, Space Operations Command Mission Area Team Chief, in the release. “Space is essential to our security and prosperity and is part of our everyday life. Our ability to operate safely and effectively is not only integral to global interests but is also vital to national defense.”
Competing with SpaceX
While all 50 missions in the NSSL Phase 2 already awarded between ULA and SpaceX, the competition for launches under the new NSSL Phase 3 is now underway. The task orders are split into two main buckets: Lane 1 and Lane 2.
NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 task orders will be partitioned similarly to Phase 2, in which about 60 percent will go to one launch provider, 40 percent to another and seven missions will be set aside for a third entrant. The awardees will be those who are able to send payloads to any orbital regime required by the U.S. Space Force and/or the National Reconnaissance Office.
Lane 1 meanwhile will see task order awards issued annually, which is designed to allow for more robust and regular competition to help diversify the launch market. However, the first year task order was announced last week with all nine missions going to SpaceX.
These launch service task orders (LSTOs) have a total value of about $733.6 million. Seven of the missions will support the launch of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) space vehicles as part of its Tranche 2 Transport Layer satellite constellation.
Four of those launches will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base and the other three will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
There will also be a pair of missions for the NRO, which will launch in the fourth quarters of FY25 and FY26.
Prior to the announcement and the launch of Cert-2, Bruno said he was optimistic in how ULA will fair when it comes to the assignment of the Phase 3 missions. He said because they designed the Vulcan rocket to be optimized for missions launching to high energy orbits, like direct injection into geosynchronous, which requires a multi-hour upper stage coast, that they will be competitive.
“We have optimized around that high energy orbit and there’s an awful lot of missions in Phase 3 that are of that nature,” Bruno said. “So, that helps us feel like we’re in a very good, competitive position, along with lots of other things.”
Bruno also pointed to the ramp up of launching Vulcan to a rate of 25 times or more per year during 2025.
“We are excited to kick off our innovative NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 effort with two task orders that support critical NRO and SDA missions,” said Lt. Col. Douglas Downs, SSC’s materiel leader for Space Launch Procurement, in a statement. “Industry stepped up to the plate and delivered on this competition. Our innovative dual-lane strategy is enabling a streamlined process from mission acquisition to launch, getting our assets on orbit for our warfighters’ benefit more quickly. Plus, with the ability to on-ramp new providers and systems annually, we expect to see increasing competition and diversity.”
Space Systems Command said that there will be at least 30 NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 missions up for award over the course of the five-year base ordering period. It added that the opportunity to receive launches will continue in the not too distant future, stating that “The next opportunity for providers to on-ramp their emerging systems to the Lane 1 IDIQ contract will occur later this year followed by several more Task Order RFPs for launch services in the third quarter of FY25.”
Quelle: SN
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Update: 10.07.2025
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ULA set to ramp up Vulcan launches and national security missions with USSF-106
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is starting launch processing for its long-awaited national security launch debut after investigating an issue that affected Vulcan’s second mission — a mission required for certification to fly national security missions. ULA will also start flying other Vulcan configurations than the VC2S, which includes two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and a standard fairing, that were used for the rocket’s first two flights.
A large part of a nozzle from one of the two GEM-63XL SRBs on the second Vulcan flight in October 2024 detached due to a manufacturing defect, forcing the rocket to heavily compensate during ascent. The mission reached orbit despite the anomaly, and ULA and Northrop Grumman isolated the root cause and have taken corrective actions to address the issue.
Although no launch date has yet been set, ULA recently started processing for the USSF-106 mission after the Vulcan received its certification to fly National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions. Vulcan now joins SpaceX’s Falcon family in launching NSSL payloads, beginning with USSF-106’s two national security satellites bound for geosynchronous orbit.
USSF-106 will utilize the VC4S configuration of the Vulcan, featuring four GEM-63XL SRBs manufactured by Northrop Grumman in its facilities in Utah. Each GEM-63XL produces 2,044 kN of thrust, while the core stage will use two Blue Origin BE-4 engines, each producing 2,400 kN of thrust at sea level. The BE-4s are made in a Blue Origin facility in Kent, Washington.
While the GEM-63XLs use solid fuel, the booster stage, or first stage, of Vulcan utilizes liquid oxygen and liquid methane as its propellants, similar to other newer rockets, such as SpaceX’s Starship and China’s ZhuQue-2. The Centaur V upper stage, powered by two RL-10C-1-1A engines manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne in West Palm Beach, Florida, utilizes liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as its propellants. The engines provide 106 kN of thrust.
A 5.4 m wide payload fairing tops Vulcan, with two fairing lengths available for use. Like the booster stage, the Centaur upper stage and fairings are made in Decatur, Alabama. Beyond Gravity, a part of the Swiss RUAG technology group, manufactures the fairings in its own Alabama factory, while ULA produces the booster stage and Centaur V in its large facility in Decatur.
The standard fairing is 15.5 m long, while the extended fairing is 21.3 m long. ULA will use the standard fairing on USSF-106. The vehicle for this mission will stand 60.5 meters tall after being assembled in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) next to the launch pad.
Vulcan’s payload fairing as the vehicle stands ready for its Cert-2 mission. (Credit: ULA)
The VC4S, launching due east from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, will have enough power to launch its two national security satellites directly into geosynchronous orbit, rather than flying them to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) like other rockets.
The forward payload for USSF-106 is classified, while the aft payload is the NTS-3 (Navigation Technology 3) satellite. NTS-3 is a navigation technology demonstrator that will use a programmable digital signal generator. This generator’s capability to be programmed on orbit can help the satellite adapt to new threats and interference. The 1,250 kg satellite is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Payloads launching into GTO need to use their own onboard propulsion systems to circularize their orbits, whereas USSF-106’s Centaur V will use its own propulsion to inject the satellites into geosynchronous orbit. This direct injection will enable each satellite to utilize all of its onboard fuel for station-keeping, thereby extending the satellites’ mission lifetimes.
The NTS-3 satellite undergoing testing ahead of launch. (Credit: Air Force Research Laboratory)
The USSF-106 mission is not the only mission ULA hopes to fly soon with Vulcan. The USSF-87 mission, also using the VC4S configuration, is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of this year, while the KV-01 Project Kuiper mission is expected to fly not too long after USSF-106.
USSF-87, launching from SLC-41 in Florida, is flying the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) 7 and 8 satellites. GSSAP 7 and 8, manufactured by Northrop Grumman, are dedicated Space Surveillance Network sensors that will monitor the space near geosynchronous orbit.
KV-01 will be the first use of Vulcan’s VC6L configuration, which is the largest and most powerful variant of the rocket currently available. The VC6L, capable of launching up to 27,200 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO), uses six GEM-63XL boosters and the 21.3 m long fairing. KV-01 will see the launch and deployment of 45 Kuiper satellites into orbit.
Rendering of Centaur V firing its engines. (Credit: Mack Crawford for NSF)
The KV-01 mission will also be the first flight for the LEO-optimized version of the Centaur V upper stage, with the flight serving as a certification mission before the stage can be used on future NSSL flights.
ULA had hoped to launch up to 20 missions between its Atlas V and Vulcan families this year but is likely to miss that target. However, the company hopes to have a busier second half of 2025, following the launch of only two missions during the first half of the year.
Upcoming flights also include the first flight of Sierra Space’s DreamChaser Tenacity on a Vulcan VC4L, as well as additional Kuiper and NSSL missions on Vulcan. Kuiper and ViaSat missions on the Atlas V 551 rocket, the most powerful configuration of that family, are also possible this year.
(Lead image: ULA lifting the booster stage for the USSF-106 mission at the Vertical Integration Facility. Credit: ULA)
Quelle: NSFWhat to know: ULA Vulcan rocket to launch national security mission from Cape Canaveral
- ULA's Vulcan rocket is preparing for its third launch, the USSF-106 mission for the Space Force.
- The launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex-41, with the date yet to be announced.
- This mission will be Vulcan's first national security payload launch, utilizing the Centaur V upper stage to reach geosynchronous orbit.
It's been awhile since Florida has seen a Vulcan rocket launch, but United Launch Alliance is pushing ahead to break that drought.
While an official launch date is yet to come, ULA has announced the upcoming USSF-106 mission for the Space Force. The company has also teased photos of the red and white Vulcan rocket in the process of being stacked for launch.
The long awaited liftoff will be from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As it is a national security mission, the payload remains undisclosed.
When did a Vulcan last launch?
How long has it been since we've seen this rocket? The last Vulcan launch was the Space Force certification flight in October 2024. Now that the new rocket has been cleared to fly national security payloads,the Space Coast awaits a launch date for this rocket's third flight.
"From its inception, the Vulcan rocket was designed to deliver heavy payloads to any orbit. The upcoming USSF-106 mission utilizes this capability with Centaur V launching a multi-manifest U.S. national security payload directly to geosynchronous orbit for the Space Force," United Launch Alliance posted to its website July 15.
The Centaur V is the Vulcan's upper stage, which is designed to reach unusual orbits for these national security missions.
"The basic architecture of the rocket is really focused on these unique orbits," ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters in March. "An example would be directly injecting into geosynchronous orbit − a mission really the government does."
A geosynchronous orbit is one which orbits alongside Earth's 24-hour rotation, with the spacecraft staying above the same longitude.
The first time a Vulcan launched was in January 2024.
What is the Vulcan replacing?
While ULA still launches its Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, the Vulcan is designed to replace both Atlas V and the now retired Delta IV. It will become ULA's main workhorse rocket.
On top of missions for the Space Force, Vulcan will also fly payloads such as Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites. The long awaited Dream Chaser space plane is also on the manifest, but no launch day yet.
Vulcan is designed to fly with two, four, or six solid rocket boosters, or none at all. ULA says to look for four solid rocket boosters propelling this upcoming mission off the launch pad.
What happened during the ULA Vulcan rocket launch in Florida last fall?
During Vulcan's last launch in October 2024, sparks were seen by spectators approximately 38 seconds into the flight. It was later revealed that an issue within one of the solid rocket boosters caused the light show.
The issue did not impact the mission, with the payload reaching orbit. The incident was investigated by ULA to understand the root cause. In March 2025, the Vulcan rocket received certification from the U.S. Space Force to fly national security missions.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Update: 9.08.2025
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ULA’s heavy-lift rocket prepares to launch first Space Force mission
The company plans to loft nine missions this year, down from the once-hoped-for 20.
After years of delays, United Launch Alliance is set to launch its first military mission on the new heavy-lift Vulcan rocket next week.
The mission, USSF-106, will send into geostationary-Earth orbit the Navigation Technology Satellite-3, or NTS-3, an experimental navigation satellite built by L3Harris and funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The company, which is moving its heavy-lift work to the Vulcan rocket, was supposed to launch four Space Force missions last year. That number was pared to two and pushed to 2025, in part due to delays with certifying the rocket after its second flight in October. During that flight, material broke off one of the solid rocket boosters. Vulcan achieved certification in March, joining SpaceX as a provider for the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program.
The cause of the booster problem has been addressed and corrective actions are in place, but it did set the company back, ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters Thursday.
The company now expects to fly nine times this year with a combination of new Vulcan and remaining Atlas rockets, Bruno said. That’s down from the company’s target of 20 launches.
“Earlier we had expected more, but it's a simple matter of getting started a little bit later in the year as we resolved the [solid rocket booster] and had to synchronize customer satellite deliveries and whatnot. So now it'll be more like nine,” Bruno said.
Before the end of the year, ULA expects to reach a twice-a-month cadence, enabling the company to launch 20 to 25 times in 2026, Bruno said.
Bruno is “pretty confident” ULA will be able to reach nine launches this year, but said some things are “always out of your control.” He added that its total output this year has been hampered by how busy the Cape Canaveral range is, with more launches and military operational tests.
To support ULA’s increase in launches, the company has been building a second vertical integration facility, the VIF, to assemble the 25-story Vulcan in Florida. And on the West Coast, the company is converting SLC-3, Space Launch Complex 3 in Vandenberg AFB, from Atlas to Vulcan.
Bruno added that finding enough employees has been a bit of a “battle,” with many aerospace companies building infrastructure and competing for the same workers. But he believes ULA has “gotten over the hump.” The company is more than three-quarters done on SLC-3; he expects to have that facility certified and able to fly missions before the end of the year.
Vulcan is key to ULA’s plans to compete against Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has dominated the launch market in recent years
Quelle: Defense One
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Update: 13.08.2025
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Rocket Launch: Vulcan USSF-106
The launch of a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket carrying the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-106 mission for the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) is planned from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, This is first national security space launch aboard the certified Vulcan rocket. The Vulcan rocket will deploy the USSF-106 mission directly to geosynchronous (GEO) orbit using the high-performance Centaur V upper-stage. Date: Aug. 12 Time: 7:39 to 8:59 p.m. EDT GO Vulcan! GO Centaur! GO USSF-106!
Quelle: ULA