tech
April 16, 2026
Vulcan woes will "absolutely" be a factor in Pentagon's next rocket competition
“If the spacecraft is ready to go, that’s going to give it a priority.”
TL;DR
- The US Space Force is dealing with the implications of two solid rocket booster malfunctions on United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket in less than two years.
- These issues are expected to influence the Pentagon's future procurement of launch services.
- The Vulcan rocket has flown only four times since its January 2024 debut, with two flights experiencing anomalies with its solid rocket boosters.
- Despite the anomalies, the rocket reached its target orbit on both occasions.
- Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant stated that the Vulcan rocket's reliability issues will "absolutely shape" the military's approach to buying launch services.
- Roughly half of the Space Force's major launches planned over the next four years are assigned to the Vulcan rocket.
- ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, was the Pentagon's primary launch provider for nearly 20 years.
- SpaceX secured the majority of military launch contracts for 2025-2029 due to its less expensive, reusable rockets.
- Blue Origin was also added as a launch provider for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions.
- The Space Force is reassigning some missions from Vulcan to SpaceX, including GPS navigation satellites.
- Officials are considering modifying payloads to launch on Vulcan without solid rocket boosters.
- Investigations into the booster malfunctions are ongoing, with Northrop Grumman planning a test-firing of a new nozzle design.
- ULA might resume flying Vulcan for Amazon's satellite constellation before the Space Force certifies it for national security missions.
- The Space Force plans to assess the launch market and potential new rocket entrants before the next NSSL competition in 2028.
- By 2028, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is expected to be certified for NSSL missions, joining SpaceX's offerings.
Continue reading the original article