Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
United Launch Alliance is planning to launch its second Vulcan rocket early tomorrow morning from Space Launch Complex 41. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 06:00 AM EDT, with a launch window that extends to 09:00 AM EDT the same day.
The launch is planned for about 75 minutes before sunrise, and if liftoff occurs before the sun peeks over the horizon, the expanding gases of the second stage may produce a spectacular display.
Launch Readiness Review Completed
ULA announced yesterday the mission has been cleared to proceed.
According to the company, “The LRR, led by ULA Launch Director Eric Richards, was completed this morning at the Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC).”
“Leadership from ULA and the Space Force assessed the readiness of the rocket, payload and mission assets, discussed the status of pre-flight processing work, heard technical overviews of the countdown and flight, and previewed the weather forecast that projects a 75 percent chance of meeting the launch rules.”
“At the conclusion of the meeting, senior leaders were polled and gave a ready status for launch, then signed the Launch Readiness Certificate.”
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron has listed a 20% Probability of Violation for tomorrow’s launch, which means that the weather is expected to be 80% GO at launch time.
Payload
In this case, the mission is the payload.
CERT-2 is designed to be the second and final demonstration flight of Vulcan. The key objective for CERT-2 is to validate the performance of the Vulcan rocket and to demonstrate to the Department of Defense that the Vulcan flight system is ready for national defense and surveillance payloads.
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Aside from the flight characteristics and performance of the Blue Origin BE-4 booster, ULA will also gauge the performance of its Centaur V upper stage. The stage was redesigned for Vulcan and proving its abilities and reliability is also a critical piece of the certification process.
CERT-2 was originally scheduled to carry the Sierra Space Dream Chaser ‘Tenacity’ on its maiden flight, but ULA was forced to switch to an inert payload for CERT-2 due to Dream Chaser not being ready for flight. Dream Chaser is currently scheduled to fly sometime in 2025, but no launch date has been announced. Currently, the spacecraft is at Kennedy Space Center undergoing flight preparations.
Trajectory
Eastwards, relatively speaking. Vulcan is destined for a heliocentric orbit around the sun, so it will take a path that lines up with the equator.
Online Viewing
ULA will have a livestream of the launch on their website: ULA Cert-2 Mission Page. This will also be available on the Youtube platform. Coverage will start about about twenty minutes prior to liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, ULA’s Cert-2 Mission Page is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
Given that this is a launch from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-41, Jetty Park, The Banana River Bridge and southern Titusville Parks are your best bets.
Cocoa Beach and the northern Titusville parks will have an excellent view as well.
