ULA Vulcan Cert 2 Flight Encounters “Off Nominal” SRB During Launch

ULA Vulcan Cert 2 Flight Encounters “Off Nominal” SRB During Launch

Debris from the left SRB nozzle is visible in this "engine shot" by Chris Leymarie / FMN
Debris from the left SRB nozzle is visible in this “engine shot” by Chris Leymarie / FMN

United Launch Alliances’s CERT-2 flight launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:25 AM EDT this morning. Almost immediately from the point of launch, observers noticed that something didn’t look quite right as Vulcan booster rose from the pad.

ULA Plans To Launch Second Vulcan Rocket From Cape Canaveral Tomorrow

ULA Plans To Launch Second Vulcan Rocket From Cape Canaveral Tomorrow

ULA Vulcan CERT-2 on the launch mount at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on October 3, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
ULA Vulcan CERT-2 on the launch mount at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on October 3, 2024
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.

ULA Rolls Second Vulcan Rocket To Its Launch Mount

ULA Rolls Second Vulcan Rocket To Its Launch Mount

United Launch Alliance’s CERT-2 rocket on its way to the launch mount at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on September 30, 2024.
Photo: United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance has moved its second Vulcan Rocket from their Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 to the launch mount. Final preparations can now begin for a launch scheduled for NET (not earlier than) Friday morning. Launch time is unofficially expected to be between 06:00 AM – 009:00 AM EDT, but ULA has not yet announced an official time for T-0.

Celestis: Enterprise Flight Remains On Course

ULA’s Vulcan lifting off in the early hours of January 8, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer, FMN

Celestis, the Texas company that provides space-based memorial services for the families of loved ones is reporting that its Enterprise Flight payload launched on ULA’s Vulcan rocket Monday morning is successful and traveling 85 million miles (297 mil km) from Earth into deep space.

ULA’s Vulcan lifting off in the early hours of January 8, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer, FMN

Celestis, the Texas company that provides space-based memorial services for the families of loved ones is reporting that its Enterprise Flight payload launched on ULA’s Vulcan rocket Monday morning is successful and traveling 85 million miles (297 mil km) from Earth into deep space.

ULA: Most Vulcan Systems Have Atlas or Delta Heritage

Graphic showing components of ULA Vulcan Centaur
Graphic: United Launch Alliance

In a press conference today leading up to the maiden launch of the ULA Vulcan in the early hours of Monday morning, ULA Vice President of Government and Commercial Programs Gary Wentz stated that the vast majority of the new rocket is either flight-proven or a variant of flight-proven hardware. He said that “the only hardware that hasn’t flown prior to this flight is the BE-4 engine. All the other or variants thereof have flown on Atlas or Delta flights, missions for other customers.”

Vulcan Rolled Out To Launch Pad, Set To Go Early Monday

ULA Vulcan on the pad
Vulcan on the launch pad at SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on January 8, 2023
Photo by TJ Waller / Florida Media Now

United Launch Alliance moved its new Vulcan rocket to the launch pad at SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station this afternoon. Vulcan will make its maiden launch at 2:18 am EST Monday January 8. The latest forecasts call for an 85% chance of acceptable launch conditions weather-wise, leaving only a 15% Probability of Violation of weather criteria. That forecast will likely be updated by the 45th Weather Wing of the US Space Force as soon as tomorrow and is subject to change.

ULA’s Vulcan Passes Launch Readiness Review, Cleared for Flight

ULA Centaur stacked atop Vulcan Booster
United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists the Certification-1 (Cert-1) payloads atop the Vulcan rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo courtesy of United Launch Alliance.

United Launch Alliance announced today that they have concluded their Launch Readiness Review for the maiden launch of their Vulcan rocket and that the mission has been cleared to proceed to its planned liftoff at 2:18 am EST on Monday, January 8th. They also added that the weather at liftoff time currently has only a 15% Probability of Violation at launch time, meaning that forecasters are calling for an 85% chance of acceptable launch conditions. The new rocket will carry the Astrobiotics Peregrine lunar lander built under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and a secondary payload of memorials for Celestis.

All Eyes Turn to the Next Major Launch- ULA’s Vulcan/ Peregrine Mission

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is encapsulated in the payload fairing, or nose cone, of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket on Nov. 21, 2023, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is encapsulated in the payload fairing, or nose cone, of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket on Nov. 21, 2023, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo: NASA

2023 ended on a high note for NASA with the dual launches of a Falcon Heavy containing the X-37B space plane and a Falcon 9 Starlink mission less than three hours later. That’s a hard act to beat, but now all eyes are turning to another major launch set for January 8th.

Vulcan Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Certification-1 (Cert-1) rocket sits atop Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced that the Wet Dress Rehearsal of the company’s new Vulcan booster was completed successfully on December 12, clearing the way for the rocket’s inaugural launch on Jan 8, 2024.