Derrick Henry
United Launch Alliance has launched its second certification flight of the Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The mission carried demonstrations for upcoming Centaur V capabilities that support complex orbital insertions in challenging orbits, ULA said Friday.
ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno called the certification flight a success, noting that the mission introduced a technology designed to meet emerging space launch requirements.
“Vulcan provides high performance and greater affordability while continuing to deliver our unmatched reliability and orbital precision for all our customers across the national security, civil and commercial markets,” Bruno noted.
Following the launch, the U.S. Space Force will review the flight data and compare it to the initial certification mission to determine if the vehicle behaved to expectations.
Once the USSF concludes that the mission complied with its standards, the service will certify the Vulcan as capable of launching national security missions.
During the review process, ULA will modify its infrastructure and develop future Vulcan upgrades, Bruno said.
L3Harris Technologies’ propulsion and avionics systems contributed to the mission. The company’s two RL10 engines provided the Vulcan with a combined thrust of approximately 48,000 pounds.
In addition, L3Harris’ controllers, data acquisition units and telemetry transmitters allowed ULA to maintain vehicle control and data transmission during the launch.
