Particle.news
Download on the App Store
10 ARTICLES
·
10h ago

Vulcan Centaur to Make First U.S. Space Force National Security Launch with Experimental NTS-3 Satellite

Mission success promises to end U.S. reliance on Russian engines by validating Vulcan’s solid-booster fixes.

ULA
Image
Pictured is a United Launch Alliance (ULA) photo of the Vulcan rocket rolling from the Government Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. For the East Coast, ULA CEO Tory Bruno says that ULA is adding a second Vertical Integration Facility and a second Vulcan mobile launch platform.
The addition of the Vulcan rocket as a certified launch system bolters the USSF’s space access portfolio. Credit: United Launch Alliance, LLC.

Overview

  • Vulcan Centaur is set to launch USSF-106 from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 12, marking its first mission under the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program and its debut with four solid rocket boosters.
  • ULA engineers say they have resolved the solid booster anomaly from Vulcan’s second test flight and conducted extensive validations of the corrective measures.
  • The mission will deploy the Air Force Research Laboratory’s $250 million Navigation Technology Satellite-3 to geosynchronous orbit for more than 100 experiments in steerable phased arrays, anti-spoofing signals and on-orbit reprogrammability.
  • Additional classified payloads are aboard USSF-106, though Space Force officials have declined to provide details on their nature or objectives.
  • Mission success is critical for ULA to address a backlog of 25 national security launches assigned to Vulcan Centaur.