United Launch Alliance (ULA) expects its Vulcan rocket to conduct its second Space Force certification flight in September, positioning the launch vehicle to fly its first national security space missions this year, according to CEO Tory Bruno. Vulcan flew its first mission in January, but a second is required for certification. ULA, along with SpaceX, is one of two companies cleared to fly national security missions for DOD and the intelligence community, replacing its legacy Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles with the more powerful Vulcan.
The company previously expected Vulcan to begin flying national security missions in 2022 but faced repeated delays, including with the BE-4 engine built by Blue Origin. Currently, ULA is facing a delay in its second Space Force certification mission due to Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane being behind schedule. As a backup, ULA will launch an inert payload for certification.
An independent review team was formed to address concerns about Vulcan’s delayed debut and ULA’s ability to scale its launch cadence. Once the team completes its review, a longer-term review team will monitor Vulcan’s progress until the company achieves full-rate production. Amid the reviews, ULA is working to ramp up production for future launch missions.
By 2025, ULA plans to launch 20 missions, some on Vulcan and some on the Atlas V rocket. The company is converting its factories, launch facilities, and supply chain to support the increased launch cadence. The key to the higher launch rate at the launch site is having a whole other vertical integration facility.
