United Launch Alliance was presupposed to fly its first nationwide safety mission on its new Vulcan rocket three years in the past. It might lastly start its large sport of catchup this week.
“We’re going to start out flying right here in only a few days — missions on Vulcan. And what’s essential for us to do is to hit our tempo and fly reliably and safely for our clients,” mentioned ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno on Thursday throughout a name with media. “That’s our job, and we’re off to go do it.”
On what can be Vulcan’s third ever launch and first for the federal government flying for House Drive’s House Techniques Command, the U.S.-106 mission is focusing on a Tuesday liftoff from Cape Canaveral House Drive Station’s House Launch Advanced 41 throughout a launch window that has but to be introduced.
Its payloads are two satellites headed for geostationary orbit. Particulars on one of many satellites is classed, however the different is the Navigation Expertise Satellite tv for pc-3, constructed by Melbourne-based L3Harris. It’s funded by the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory and gives a possible substitute know-how for GPS.
Vulcan, a successor to ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV class of rockets, initially was focusing on a debut as early as 2019, however confronted a sequence of delays as a result of COVID, the event of name new engines from provider Blue Origin and an explosion on a take a look at pad.
It lastly took flight in January 2024, however has solely flown as soon as extra since. Each missions had been wanted to achieve nationwide safety certification from the House Drive. However that second flight final fall had an issue, as a stable rocket booster misplaced its nozzle throughout liftoff, and that delayed certification to just about April of this 12 months.
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A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket prepared for USSF-106 mission sits within the Authorities Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-G) adjoining to House Launch Advanced-41 at Cape Canaveral House Drive Station on July 24, 2025. The rocket awaits launch on what can be its first nationwide safety mission for the U.S. House Drive House Techniques Command. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance)
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A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket prepared for USSF-106 mission sits within the Authorities Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-G) adjoining to House Launch Advanced-41 at Cape Canaveral House Drive Station on July 24, 2025. The rocket awaits launch on what can be its first nationwide safety mission for the U.S. House Drive House Techniques Command. (Courtesy/United Launch Alliance)
Due to the delays, ULA, a shared enterprise between Boeing and Lockheed Martin that was shaped in 2006, has a backlog in its 25 missions for the Division of Protection that had been assigned to Vulcan, with a number of having already missed their unique goal launch date.
ULA was awarded the nationwide safety USSF-106 mission in 2020, one in all two provided that 12 months as a part of the NSSL Section 2 contract that had been each presupposed to fly on Vulcan in 2022.
ULA needed to change the opposite mission awarded that 12 months to one in all its dwindling provide of Atlas V rockets, however even that mission didn’t take flight till two years later than initially deliberate, with liftoff from the House Coast final summer season.
However now ULA has an ample provide of Vulcan {hardware} and the OK to go from the House Drive, Bruno mentioned.
This explicit mission is confronting what would be the most demanding of presidency launch profiles, carrying its satellites right into a direct geostationary orbit at greater than 22,000 miles altitude, far increased and tougher than the standard insertion. However the increased orbit saves the House Drive time and gasoline that must be spent when a satellite tv for pc is dropped in at a decrease altitude, after which requires months to achieve the perfect place.
“It’s what we designed this rocket to do,” he mentioned. “For those who had been selecting, you would possibly select to start out with a extra plain vanilla mission. That is, the truth is, the anchor case that drove the design and the structure of the entire rocket.”
Not Getting Paid
When the federal government started divvying up nationwide safety launches between ULA and SpaceX again in 2000, it had acknowledged ULA would get the lion’s share of what ended up being $8.5 billion protecting almost 50 job orders issued by means of 2024. Due to delays to Vulcan, although, SpaceX was given extra job orders within the closing 12 months of assignments, so ULA ended up with 26 missions to SpaceX’s 22.
And since then, the House Drive has switched two of ULA’s assigned missions to SpaceX, though ULA is meant to be given a pair of SpaceX’s assigned job orders in return at a later date.
Nonetheless, the delay in Vulcan meant ULA was not poised to money in on the brand new spherical of nationwide safety missions that had been introduced earlier this 12 months. The NSSL Section 3 program up to now has favored SpaceX for its greatest missions, often known as Lane 2 missions, with $5.9 billion of an general $13.7 billion pie to be assigned over the subsequent 5 years. ULA continues to be set to get $5.3 billion of that whereas newcomer Blue Origin might get $2.4 billion as soon as its New Glenn rocket is licensed.
However ULA nonetheless has one other 24 nationwide safety missions to fly from Section 2 earlier than it will get to its share of the greater than 54 general missions anticipated to be awarded by means of 2029. ULA has been shut out so removed from a second lane of the Section 3 contracts that’s designed to herald extra corporations to fly much less demanding missions.
Lane 1 is predicted to name for as much as 30 missions to be awarded by means of 2029, price one other $5.6 billion. To this point, all of these orders have gone to SpaceX.
The Vulcan delays have meant ULA solely managed 5 launches in 2024 after capturing off simply three in 2023. The plan, although, is to ramp up Vulcan’s tempo together with the 13 remaining Atlas V rockets so ULA is hitting between 20-25 launches a 12 months.
“Once you’re a launch firm, you receives a commission whenever you launch. Go determine,” Bruno mentioned. “In order we got here to the tip of Vulcan improvement, and we needed to get the rocket working, and we had an anomaly to resolve, there have been fewer flights, as you guys are effectively conscious. So revenues had been a lot decrease than our regular historic common.”
A brighter future
The corporate was the only real supplier for nationwide safety missions and had its busiest 12 months in 2009 when it flew 16 instances. It’s revamping a pad at Vandenberg House Drive Base in California whereas additionally ending work on a second vertical integration facility in Cape Canaveral so it may very well be processing three missions without delay earlier than the tip of the 12 months.
“As we go ahead now we’re high-quality, and so the revenues can be extra according to what we’ve had prior to now, after which increased subsequent 12 months as we leap to that 20-to-25 fee,” he mentioned.
For 2024, Bruno mentioned he expects to finish the 12 months with 9 missions. That would come with a second House Drive launch, USSF-87, which might fly from Cape Canaveral.
It additionally might see the primary of 38 contracted Vulcan launches for Amazon’s Venture Kuiper constellation in addition to a number of extra of the remaining six Atlas V launches Amazon bought.
Different clients that would fly on Vulcan within the subsequent 12 months embody Sierra House’s Dream Chaser spacecraft, which is slated to make its debut launch on a cargo mission to the Worldwide House Station.
And 6 of the remaining Atlas V rockets are put aside for Boeing Starliner, which may very well be in line to launch twice in 2026.
Bruno mentioned the full backlog for presidency and business missions is about 100, wanting 5 years out.
“For this 12 months, ’25, we’re absolutely booked up. And ’26 it’s fairly crowded. Somebody must drop out of line to ensure that us to make a slot for another person,” he mentioned. “As we go into ’27 it’s actually the identical story. So we’re in that good downside to have of getting extra clients eager to trip on this rocket than is simple to accommodate.”
