Overview
- United Launch Alliance prepared Vulcan LV-01 to lift off on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral with 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites in a VC6L configuration.
- The flight will use an improved GEM-63XL solid rocket booster nozzle that follows two prior nozzle burn‑through and liberation observations in Oct. 2024 and Feb. 2026, issues that prompted a Space Force pause on national‑security Vulcan launches.
- Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines on the vehicle have a qualified retrofit kit fitted to address a main oxidizer‑valve failure mode seen during a May New Glenn test, and ULA will monitor their performance closely during ascent.
- ULA says mission telemetry and post‑flight analysis will be shared with the Space Force so officials can decide when Vulcan is safe to return to national‑security flights, and ULA will continue ground testing in parallel.
- The launch is the first of up to 38 Vulcan missions Amazon has booked and will materially speed Amazon Leo’s constellation buildout if successful, affecting Amazon’s deployment schedule and FCC compliance timelines.