ULA's Vulcan rocket is set to return to flight on Friday the 13th
Summary
United Launch Alliance plans to return its Vulcan rocket to flight on November 13, pending range approval, with a launch of 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission will use redesigned solid-booster nozzles after failures on two of Vulcan’s first four flights, including an anomaly in February that led to the rocket’s grounding.Key Facts
- ULA said engineers identified potential contributors to February’s booster anomaly and made design and process changes to the nozzle.
- ULA and booster manufacturer Northrop Grumman have not publicly stated the root cause of the February nozzle malfunction.
- The November mission is the first of 38 Vulcan flights Amazon booked to deploy most of its Leo satellite network.
- The Vulcan rocket will use an extended payload fairing and stand 221 feet tall for this mission.
- The U.S. Space Force certified Vulcan for national security launches in 2025 and will closely scrutinize its return-to-flight mission.
- The Space Force has moved six missions from Vulcan to SpaceX rockets because of ULA delays, while assigning ULA six future missions originally planned for SpaceX.
- ULA is a joint venture owned equally by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
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