ULA Launches Vulcan-Centaur From The Cape

As Space Coast skies faded into night, United Launch Alliance launched their Vulcan-Centaur rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at 7:59 PM Eastern Time, carrying the classified USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The evening launch, near the end of the one-hour window, was a successful return for the vehicle after its near-catastrophic solid rocket failure in its last launch in October, 2024.

This was Vulcan-Centaur’s first operational mission and the first national security payload to utilize its services, a milestone ULA has been working toward since 2014. ULA has faced scrutiny over Vulcan, with military officials calling for more reliability and accountability as the company shifts gearsto its new fleet. There are no more Delta-family launches left, and a dwindling number of Atlas-V launches, most of which are planned for Amazon’s Kuiper Project as well as the Boeing Starliner program.

The USSF-106 mission lofted the Navigation Technology Satellite‑3 (NTS‑3) a new PNT (position, navigation, and timing) satellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. NTS-3 is part of the Space Force’s next-generation secure communications and surveillance network and is intended to provide a test-bed for new technologies for the U.S. strategic presence in geostationary orbit. While its exact specification and full list of functionality has not been disclosed, the Space Force did release a video outlining some of NTS-3’s capabilities.

This was the second operational flight of the Vulcan-Centaur, a rocket that blends heritage hardware from ULA’s proven Atlas V and Delta IV lines with modern propulsion and structural systems designed to reduce cost and increase performance. Its twin BE-4 engines, built by Blue Origin, again faced intense scrutiny after a near-catastrophic issue during the Vulcan Certification Flight 2 (CERT-2) earlier this year, when performance anomalies forced an early second-stage cutoff. The flawless ascent tonight provided ULA with a public and technical redemption arc, reassuring both the U.S. military and commercial customers that the vehicle is ready for a sustained operational tempo.

A Rocket with a Complex Heritage

Vulcan-Centaur has been in development for over a decade, born from the Air Force’s directive to replace the Russian-built RD-180 engines that powered the Atlas V. The geopolitical urgency of the change, accelerated by the fallout from the Russian invasion of Crimea, placed pressure on ULA to find a domestically produced alternative without sacrificing the precision and reliability demanded for national security payloads. Blue Origin’s BE-4 was selected as the first stage’s main engine, running on liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen, a departure from the kerosene-fueled Atlas V.

The upper stage, Centaur V, carries forward decades of flight heritage but with upgraded tanks, insulation, and avionics. This stage is powered by Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10C-X, an iteration of one of the most efficient rocket engines ever built. The pairing of BE-4 propulsion and the stretched Centaur V gives Vulcan the capacity to deliver heavier payloads directly to high-energy orbits, including missions that require precise timing or complex multi-burn profiles.

In interviews leading up to the launch, ULA CEO Tory Bruno stressed that Vulcan was designed from the ground up to handle every mission profile in the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract, which includes some of the heaviest and most complex satellites in the U.S. inventory. “With Vulcan, we can go from low Earth orbit to direct-to-GEO missions with a single vehicle architecture,” Bruno said. “It’s about reducing complexity, increasing cadence, and making sure the warfighter gets what they need—on time.”

Strategic Stakes for ULA and the Space Force

The successful deployment of USSF-106 carries significant implications for ULA’s competitive position in a rapidly evolving launch market. In the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract, ULA and SpaceX share the majority of missions, but each successful Vulcan flight strengthens ULA’s case for maintaining and potentially expanding its share in the upcoming Phase 3 competition.

From the Space Force’s perspective, the mission underscores the criticality of having at least two independent domestic launch providers capable of delivering heavy, sensitive payloads to a range of orbits. “Redundancy isn’t just a safety net—it’s a strategic necessity,” said a senior Space Force official. “If one provider experiences a prolonged stand-down, the other must be ready to step in without delay. Vulcan’s success tonight reinforces that safeguard.”

The launch also arrives amid heightened global competition in military space capabilities. China’s rapid expansion of its own geostationary surveillance and communication networks, coupled with Russia’s demonstrated anti-satellite capabilities, places additional urgency on maintaining a robust U.S. presence in high-value orbital slots. The payload aboard USSF-106 is expected to contribute to continuous, secure coverage for both strategic communications and intelligence gathering.

Looking Ahead

With this mission complete, ULA now turns its focus to accelerating Vulcan’s launch cadence. A backlog of government and commercial customers awaits, including the high-profile missions of launching Sierra’s Dream Chaser HL-20 space plane, lunar lander delivery for Astrobotic and several additional Space Force payloads that have been backlogged during Vulcan-Centaur’s delays.

Bruno has repeatedly emphasized the importance of transitioning from heritage vehicles to Vulcan without gaps in service. The company has already retired Delta IV Heavy and is phasing out Atlas V after fulfilling remaining contractual obligations. This places enormous operational weight on Vulcan’s shoulders, as it must now handle every payload class previously split between two different vehicles.

Publicly, ULA reported no anomalies during ascent, and early indications suggest that both the BE-4 first-stage engines and the Centaur V upper stage performed within expected parameters. Of special interest were the Northrup Grumman GEM 63XL solid rocket motors that were used to provide lifting power to Vulcan-Centaur’s core stage. In 2024, a nozzle from one of two GEM-63XLs failed, jeopardizing the vehicle and its payload. Fortunately, the flight software and ground controllers were able to overcome the reduced and asymmetric thrust of the vehicle to successfully achieve orbit. This time, with twice as many of the solids attached to the vehicle, no problem at all.

For ULA, this flight was more than a contractual obligation; it was a return to form. ULA has an extraordinary record of successful launches, going back to the 1990s. After the GEM-63XL failure last year, this mission was critical to restore customer confidence in Vulcan-Centaur and in United Launch Alliance itself. For the Space Force, it was a successful deployment of a long awaited test asset and further proof that they have dissimilar redundancies that assure access to space.. And for the thousands who watched from beaches, bridges, and backyards, it was an evening where a bright new rocket lit the sky, eventually leaving only a fading plume and the thrill of watching a powerful new launch vehicle powering its way to orbit.