The United Launch Alliance was supposed to fly its first national security mission with the new Vulcan Rocket three years ago. This week we may finally start a big catch-up game.
“We’re starting our flight here in the last few days – the Vulcan mission. And what’s important we do is to hit our tempo on Thursday, Thursday with a call to the media and make sure we fly safely.” “That’s what we do and we do it to do.”
With the third launch of Vulcan and the government’s first launch of Space Force’s Space Systems Command, the USSF-106 mission targets Tuesday’s lift-off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 during an unannounced launch window.
Its payload is two satellites heading into geostationary orbit. One detail of the satellite is categorized, while the other is the navigation technology satellite-3, built by Melbourne-based L3Harris. Funded by the Air Force Research Institute, it offers potential exchange technology for GPS.
Vulcan, the successor to ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV class rockets, originally targeted its debut as early as 2019, but faced a string of delays due to Covid, the development of a brand new engine from supplier blue origins, and an explosion on the test pad.
I finally flew in January 2024, but since then I have flew again. Both missions were required to obtain national security certification from the Space Force. However, that second flight was a problem last fall. A solid rocket booster lost the nozzle during the lift-off, delaying certification almost in April this year.
Due to delays, Ula, a shared venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin formed in 2006, has a backlog on 25 Department of Defense missions assigned to the Vulcan.
ULA was awarded the National Security USSF-106 Mission in 2020. This was given one of the years as part of the NSSL Phase 2 contract, which was to fly in the Vulcan in 2022.
The ULA had to switch other missions awarded that year to one of Atlas V Rockets’ declining supply, but even that mission didn’t fly two years later than originally planned, leaving the Space Coast last summer.
But now ULA has plenty of Vulcan hardware to go from space forces, Bruno said.
This particular mission faces what is the most demanding of the government’s launch profile, carrying satellites directly into Earth orbit at an altitude of over 22,000 miles, making it much higher and more difficult than a typical insertion. However, higher orbits save time and fuel for spatial forces that need to be used when the satellite is dropped to a lower altitude, and then months are required to reach its ideal position.
“It’s what we designed this rocket,” he said. “If you were your choice, you might choose to start with a simpler vanilla mission, which is actually an anchor case that drives the design and architecture of the entire rocket.”
I haven’t received a reward
When the government began splitting national security launches between ULA and SpaceX in 2000, it said it would acquire a $8.5 billion lion share, covering nearly $5 billion in task orders issued by 2024.
Since then, Space Force has switched two ULA assigned missions to SpaceX, but ULA should be given a SpaceX assigned task order at a later date.
Still, the Vulcan delay meant that ULA was not ready to cash in for a new round of national security missions announced earlier this year. The NSSL Phase 3 program so far supports SpaceX on its biggest mission known as the Lane 2 mission, with $5.9 billion in total pie of $13.7 billion over the next five years. ULA is still set to win $5.3 billion, but once the new Glenn Rocket is certified, Newcomer Blue Origin will win $2.4 billion.
However, ULA still has 24 more national security missions to fly from Phase 2 before sharing more than 54 missions expected to be awarded by 2029. ULA has so far been closed from the second lane of a Phase 3 contract, designed to allow more companies to fly fewer tougher missions.
Lane 1 is expected to seek to award up to 30 missions by 2029, worth an additional $5.6 billion. So far, all of these orders have been SpaceX.
The Vulcan delay meant that ULA managed five launches in 2024 after being shot down only three times in 2023. However, the plan is to raise the Vulcan pace along with 13 Atlas V rockets.
“When you’re a launch company, you get paid when you start up. Show me,” Bruno said. “So, we came at the end of the Vulcan development and had to make the rocket work, so there was an abnormality to resolve. You know so much, so there are fewer flights.
A bright future
The company previously was the sole provider of national security missions and had its busiest year in 2009 when it flew 16 times. The padding of California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base will be revamped, and work will be completed at Cape Canaveral’s second vertically integrated facility, potentially handling three missions by the end of the year.
“As we move forward now, we’re doing well. So our revenues are consistent with what we’ve had in the past and will be higher next year if we jump to a rate of 20-25,” he said.
In 2024, Bruno said he expects the year to end with nine missions. This includes the USSF-87, the second cosmic force launch flying from Cape Canaveral.
We also saw the first release of 38 contracted Vulcans for Amazon’s project Kuiper Constellation, as well as some more of the releases of the remaining six Atlas Vs.
Other customers who could fly in the Vulcan next year include the Sierra Space Dream Chaser spacecraft.
Six of the remaining Atlas V rockets have been set aside for the Boeing Star Liner and could be released twice in 2026.
Bruno said the total backlog of government and commercial missions is about 100 years, looking five years away.
“This year, ’25, we’re fully booked. And ’26 is pretty busy. For someone to make a slot for someone else, someone has to drop the line,” he said. “When we enter ’27, it’s really the same story. So we have better issues than we want more customers to ride this rocket, than we can handle it easily.”