ULA Announces Launch Date for Vulcan Cert-2

Vulcan Cert-1 launches from SLC-41

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced that the second certification (commonly known as Cert-2) flight of Vulcan Centaur is set to take place no earlier than October 4, 2024, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Although this second flight was originally planned to carry the inaugural launch of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, schedule delays have caused ULA to switch to an inert payload with experiments and demonstrations of future Centaur V technologies. This flight will be the second of two required test missions for ULA's certification process with the U.S. Space Force, which ensures that Vulcan will meet the required operational standards for future NSSL missions.

The maiden flight of Vulcan, which carried out a flawless performance on January 8, 2024, carried the Peregrine Lunar Lander. Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to replace ULA’s Atlas V and the now-retired Delta IV Heavy. It consists of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur upper stage.

Vulcan is designed to compete against the Falcon-9 and eliminate ULA’s dependence on Russian-made RD-180 engines, which powers the Atlas V. Vulcan's first stage will be powered by a pair of BE-4 engines developed by Blue Origin. The vehicle is to be used primarily for the National Security Space Launch program, which launches satellites for U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense of Department but will also fly commercial launches.

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