United Launch Alliance is targeting Sept. 16 for the second test flight of its new Vulcan rocket. A flawless mission could eventually pave the way for the first Vulcan launch for the U.S. military by the end of the year.
The U.S. Space Force has contracted ULA’s Vulcan rocket to launch most of its military space missions in the coming years. Pentagon officials are eager to get Vulcan flying so they can complete a backlog of 25 military space missions the Space Force plans to launch by the end of 2027.
Regardless, the first Vulcan launch in January was a resounding success. On its debut flight, the new rocket carried a commercial lunar lander to an on-target orbit. The next Vulcan mission, which ULA is calling Cert-2, will be the rocket’s second certification flight. The Space Force requires ULA to complete two successful flights of the Vulcan rocket before it will be trusted to launch national security satellites.
When the rubber meets the road
The pressure on ULA to complete the second Vulcan test flight was great enough that the longtime military launch provider, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, announced last month that it would launch the next Vulcan rocket without an actual payload. The spacecraft ULA had planned to launch on the Cert-2 mission was the commercial Dream Chaser spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. But Dream Chaser won’t be ready for launch until September and may not fly until next year.
Instead of generating revenue from the Cert-2 mission, ULA will fly a dummy payload, or mass simulator, in the nose cone of the next Vulcan rocket. ULA CEO Tory Bruno called the company's decision “certification at its own expense.”
Two sources told Ars that ULA plans to launch the second Vulcan rocket on September 16 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. But with the launch date pushed back nearly two months, don't be surprised if there are minor adjustments to the schedule.
In June, ULA delivered the second Vulcan rocket to Cape Canaveral from its Alabama facility for final processing before it is stacked on a mobile launch pad next month. One thing that needs to happen before then is the next launch of ULA's current workhorse rocket, the Atlas V, scheduled for July 30.
The Atlas V is fully stacked at ULA's Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral and will roll out of the hangar and onto the launch pad a few days before launch. It is one of 16 Atlas V rockets remaining in ULA's inventory. Bruno said ULA is on track to complete production of the remaining Atlas V rockets by the end of this year, allowing the company to convert floor space in its rocket manufacturing facility to ramp up production of Vulcan launch vehicles.
Once the Atlas V lifts off later this month, the hangar will be empty so ULA can begin assembling components for the second Vulcan rocket. Ground crews are planning a countdown rehearsal in August, during which the launch team will load liquid methane, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel onto the Vulcan rocket.
For subsequent Vulcan flights, ULA will not need to conduct the countdown rehearsal, Bruno told reporters last month.
Most of the remaining Atlas V rockets are assigned to missions for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation and astronaut missions on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Atlas V flight scheduled for July 30 will be the last Atlas V to launch a mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will also be ULA’s 100th national security mission since the company was founded in 2006 with the merger of Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s legacy launch businesses.
ULA's primary customers are the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. Until the Delta IV was retired earlier this year, ULA operated the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, among others.
If all goes according to plan, ULA could be ready to launch its 101st national security mission aboard a Vulcan rocket later this year. The mission, designated USSF-106, will launch an experimental demonstration satellite into near-geosynchronous orbit for the Air Force Research Laboratory to test next-generation satellite navigation technologies.
