Introduction to the Vulcan Rocket
United Launch Alliance has released its new company rocket, the Volcanic rocket. On Tuesday, two military satellites were launched into space in the first US Space Force-sanctioned flight of a new launcher, which will finally replace the company’s Atlas 5 and already transferred Delta. The Vulcan rocket is equipped with four solid burning strips for additional starting power and two methane-BE-4 engines.
The Launch
The two methane-BE-4 engines of the 198-foot rocket thundered to life at 8:56 p.m. EDT and immediately drove the rocket off Pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Vulcan put on an eastern trajectory over the Atlantic and put on a spectacular display when it roared nearby, with a brilliant exhaust visible for miles. The four strap-on boosters were jettisoned about 90 seconds after liftoff, followed by burnout and separation of the 109-foot-high first stage of the Vulcan three and a half minutes later.
The Mission
The two hydrogen drives from Centaur Second Stage Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engines ignited and took over from there, but in accordance with the standard policy for military missions, ULA ended its launch commentary and the rest of the flight became secret. It was assumed that at least two satellites were on board: a fully classified spaceship and an experimental satellite that carries out tests of improved atomic clocks and navigation technologies that could lead to more precise, marbled global positioning data for military and commercial users.
The Satellites
Both satellites were bound for the geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles above the equator, where the spaceship takes 24 hours to complete an orbit and thus remains stationary in the sky. The navigation technology satellite 3, or NTS-3, will operate with a much higher bar, using an advanced phased array antenna to transmit electronic signals to receivers at multiple locations on wide regions. It is the first experimental navigation satellite of the Pentagon since GPS started in the 1970s.
The Significance of the Mission
The main goal of the flight is to launch the USSF-106 payloads, but the launch is also a large milestone for United Launch Alliance. It was the third launch of the powerful new Vulcan after two test flights last year and the first to "certify" the Space Force to lead costly national security spy satellites and other expensive military spaceships. The Vulcan replaces ULA’s already retired Delta family of rockets and the venerable Atlas 5, which is driven by a Russian RD-180 engine of the first stage.
The Future of the Vulcan Rocket
ULA is extending its soil infrastructure and expects to launch nine flights in 2025, reaching a cadence of two per month by the end of the year. The company expects to launch between 20 and 25 flights in 2026. The President and CEO of ULA, Tory Bruno, said the first stage of the Vulcan, which has high-performance BE-4 engines from Blue Origin, is specially developed for these exotic orbits that primarily apply to the government. The Vulcan is designed to support these missions that are injected directly into GEO for space, making it a very capable rocket for heavy military payloads.
