ULA's Vulcan Rocket Completes Second Test Flight Despite Booster Anomaly

The successful mission marks a critical step toward certification for launching national security payloads.

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket experienced an anomaly with a solid rocket booster but still achieved mission success.
The test flight, known as Cert-2, is crucial for Vulcan's certification to carry high-priority national security payloads for the U.S. Space Force.
The Federal Aviation Administration assessed the booster issue and determined no investigation is warranted at this time.
ULA plans to ramp up Vulcan launches, with a backlog of 69 missions, including contracts for the Space Force and Amazon's Kuiper network.
The Vulcan rocket is set to replace ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, aiming for cost-competitiveness with SpaceX.