Vulcan

United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado received $25,000,000 from NASA for a Vulcan engine reuse scale hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator technology demonstration.

United Launch Alliance received a $25,000,000 Tipping Point award to advance hypersonic decelerator technology tested on the LOFTID project for potential use to recover the engine section of its Vulcan booster.

The Vulcan launch vehicle can launch nearly as much mass as the Delta IV Heavy with 36% more volume.

Vulcan can place 14.5 metric tons into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), which is 53% of its LEO performance.

ULA won a $224.3 million contract for two Vulcan launches, which included special-service surcharges.

Vulcan’s maximum launch volume is 12 cubic meters per metric ton.

ULA may develop a first-stage engine module for Vulcan that could be detached, recovered, and reused.

ULA CEO Tory Bruno previously estimated Vulcan would cost about $100 million for a medium-lift booster.

ULA is conducting tests in advance of the first launch of Vulcan in late 2023.

Vulcan has a payload fairing diameter of 5 meters.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is developing the Vulcan heavy launch vehicle.

Amazon initially planned to launch its first two Project Kuiper prototype satellites by the fourth quarter of 2022 on ABL Space Systems rockets before switching to a United Launch Alliance Vulcan mission now slated for the fourth quarter of 2023.

The first national security Vulcan launch under the NSS Launch Phase 2 contract could take place as soon as the second quarter of 2024.

United Launch Alliance delayed the Vulcan launch on 2023-06-24 to make minor reinforcements to the Centaur upper stage.

United Launch Alliance completed a review of data from the Flight Readiness Firing of the Vulcan booster’s BE-4 engines on 2023-06-07 and concluded that all test objectives were successfully achieved.

ULA plans to retire the Delta 4 Heavy and replace it with the Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The final Delta IV Heavy is scheduled to launch in 2024 as United Launch Alliance transitions its future missions from the East and West Coasts to the Vulcan rocket.

NROL-64 will launch aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket from the Eastern range.