The US space force has certified united launch alliance's (Ula) New Vulcan Centaur Rockt to Launch National Security Missions.
The news, which the space force announced on Wednsday (March 26), Doubles the Number of National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Providers. Ula joins spacex in this select group.
“Assured Access to space is a core function of the space force and a critical element of National Security,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, The Space Force's Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space, Said in an emailed statement on Wednsday. “Vulcan Certification Adds Launch Capacity, Resilience and Flexibility Needed by Our Nation's Most Critical Space-Based Systems.”
Ula has been working to certificate the vulcan centaur for nssl missions since 2016, when the company signed an agrement to this Effect with the US Air Force.
Related: Facts about Ula's New Vulcan Centaur Rocket
Vulcan was still in the development phase at the time; It was Ula's Powerful Workhorse Rockt of the future, the envisioned replacement for the company's veneable atlas v rocket.
The Atlas v, which debuteed in 2002, conducted many national security launches for the US government over the years; It flew ital nssl mission last July and is expected to retire laater this decade.
Vulcan Debuted in January 2024, successfully sent the private peregrine moon lander aloft. :
The new Rockt launched against last October, on a test flight that did not carry any customer payloads. Vulcan Achieved Its Major Objectives on that Mission as Well, According to Ula, Despite Encountering A Problem – the failure of an engine nozzle on one one of its on it.
That failure was caused by a manufacturing defect, which has been addressed, Ula President and CEO Tory Bruno Told Reporters Earlier This Month,
The space force is apparently satisfied with the corrective actions and with vulcan center's products going forward, as it has given the correct to carry new light to care.
That process was a lengthy and rigorous one, Military Officials Said.
“Vulcan's Certification is the Culmination of Several Years of Effort by the space for for forr force and ula, which Encompassed 52 Certification Criteria, Including more than 180 decrete tasks, two creatation Fligstation Demonstrations, 60 Payload Interface Requirement Verifications, 18 Subsystem Design and Test Reviews, And 114 Hardware and Software Audits, All to Establish the Technical Baseline from which is the Spale FORCE Willing Future Flight Worthness Determinations for Launch, “Space Force Officials Wrote in the Same Statement.
“We are proud to have launched 100 National Security Space Missions and Honored to Continue Serving the Nation with our new Vulcan Rocket,” Bruno said in the statement. “We thank the space for their collaboration and confidence, and we are honored to support our national security needs for many years to come.”
