Additional Coverage:
Vulcan Rocket Delivers Classified Payloads Despite In-Flight Anomaly
Cape Canaveral, FL – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket successfully delivered a suite of classified Space Force payloads into their intended orbits Thursday morning, even after experiencing an apparent burn-through in one of its solid-fuel booster nozzles shortly after liftoff.
The two-stage Vulcan rocket ignited its engines at 4:22 a.m. EST, ascending from Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with 2.9 million pounds of thrust. The initial moments of the flight appeared smooth, but approximately 20 seconds post-launch, cameras captured a visible jet of flame emanating from the nozzle of one of the four strap-on GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters.
Later in the ascent, prior to the planned jettison of the boosters, tracking cameras observed the rocket undergoing a rapid roll along its long axis. While the exact cause of this motion remains under investigation, it ceased once the boosters were released.
“Early during flight, the team observed a significant performance anomaly on one of the four solid rocket motors,” stated Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Atlas and Vulcan programs. “Despite the observation, the Vulcan booster and Centaur (upper stage) performed nominally and delivered the spacecraft directly to geosynchronous orbit.”
Wentz confirmed that a government-contractor team is currently reviewing technical data, imagery, and preparing a recovery team for any debris. A thorough investigation will be conducted to identify the root cause and implement necessary corrective actions before the next Vulcan mission.
This launch marked the fourth flight of ULA’s new Vulcan rocket, which is designed to replace the company’s Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launchers. It is the second time a Vulcan mission has experienced a booster nozzle anomaly; a similar issue occurred during a certification flight in 2024, leading to a lengthy investigation and subsequent corrective measures.
The primary payload for Thursday’s mission was a Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellite, built by Northrop Grumman. These satellites are designed to monitor the movements and behavior of other spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit, approximately 22,300 miles above the equator.
Also aboard the Vulcan, nestled beneath the GSSAP in the nose cone, was an ESPAStar spacecraft – a solar-powered platform capable of deploying multiple smaller payloads. All ESPAStar payloads on this mission were classified.
Mission managers had indicated that Thursday’s flight would be ULA’s longest to date for a Vulcan rocket, a 10-hour journey designed to deliver payloads to multiple points in near-geosynchronous orbit. Wentz emphasized that this type of complex, multi-manifested national security space mission is precisely what the Vulcan launch vehicle was designed to support.
ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, had ambitious plans for over 20 launches this year. It remains to be seen how the investigation into the latest nozzle failure might impact that schedule.