{"id":138758,"date":"2024-12-19T11:38:13","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T04:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138758"},"modified":"2024-12-19T11:38:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T04:38:13","slug":"space-force-says-first-national-security-vulcan-launch-now-anticipated-in-spring-2025-spaceflight-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138758","title":{"rendered":"Space Force says first national security Vulcan launch now anticipated in spring 2025 \u2013 Spaceflight Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67635\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67635\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67635\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241022_Vulcan_stacking-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241022_Vulcan_stacking-1.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241022_Vulcan_stacking-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241022_Vulcan_stacking-1-678x452.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241022_Vulcan_stacking-1-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67635\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan first stage booster into the Vertical Integration Facility-G (VIF-G) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket will launch the USSF-106 mission for the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command, Vulcan\u2019s first national security flight. Image: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The first national security mission for United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan rocket might not occur until April 2025 at the earliest, the U.S. Space Force said.<\/p>\n<p>The third flight for the Vulcan is set to carry a payload for the U.S. Space Force on a mission dubbed USSF-106. But before that happens, Vulcan needs to complete its certification to launch missions under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contract.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the USSF\u2019s Space Systems Command (SSC), which oversees the launch procurements for the NSSL missions, said \u201cthe second quarter 2025\u201d is when SSC anticipates the first NSSL Vulcan mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government team has not completed its technical evaluation of the certification criteria and is working closely with ULA on additional data required to complete this evaluation,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThe government anticipates completion of its evaluation and certification in the first quarter of calendar year 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to Spaceflight Now, a ULA spokesperson said that it would be ready to launch Vulcan during the first quarter of 2025, adding that the rocket is still stacked (minus the payload) inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.<\/p>\n<p>ULA decided that for its certification process, it would develop and test the Vulcan rocket shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. government. The two entities established the Vulcan Certification Plan in 2018, which was based on the New Entrant Certification Guide published in 2011.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_68257\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-68257\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-68257\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241218_Bruno_SFA_Spacepower.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241218_Bruno_SFA_Spacepower.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241218_Bruno_SFA_Spacepower-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241218_Bruno_SFA_Spacepower-678x381.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241218_Bruno_SFA_Spacepower-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-68257\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno participated in a fireside chat with Michael Dickey, director of the Force Design Integration Office at the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Warfighting Analysis Center. The conversation happened on the final day of the Space Force Association\u2019s Spacepower Conference on Dec. 12, 2024. Image: Will Robinson-Smith\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During a roundtable discussion with reporters last week, ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said there were essentially two choices when it came to how to certify Vulcan to fly missions for the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can go with choice A, which is, we\u2019re in a hurry and we\u2019re concerned the government will slow us down. So go away and we\u2019ll call you when we\u2019re done and give you a large amount of data to wade through at the end,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cAnd that typically requires three or four certification flights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen you have option B, which is, no, we\u2019re comfortable working with the government, so come on in and attend all the meetings and be embedded with us through the entire journey and there\u2019ll be data deliveries all along. And that typically only requires, usually two flights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bruno said the outcome of the second option results in a final data review by the government where the perform an independent verification and then approve the certification. He said they are in the end game of that now.<\/p>\n<h4>Ongoing investigation<\/h4>\n<p>One of the watch items in the certification process is an anomaly that occurred with one of the two Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM) 63XL solid rocket boosters (SRBs) flown during the second certification flight of Vulcan on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a minute after launch, one of the booster lost part of its nozzle. Despite a loss of thrust, the rocket was able to compensate and successfully completed the rest of the test flight.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ULA&#039;s Vulcan rocket overcomes solid rocket booster anomaly, completes second certification launch\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/saezng2g1MY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Bruno said last week ULA is still drilling down to a root cause of the issue and wasn\u2019t ready to go into detail on that. But he said \u201cit\u2019s not the first time that I have liberated a nozzle in my several decades of building rockets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Referencing the investigation so far, he added that \u201cnothing in there surprises me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn terms of the investigation, we have recovered hardware from near the pad. I\u2019ll tell you, there are insulators that failed, that are bonded to the inside of the shell that becomes the nozzle and we recovered parts of those,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cThat was pretty fortunate for us. Gave us really quick and early insight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo long way of saying, [we have] a pretty good idea what happened and minor modifications that would be necessary and desired to correct that [are] already underway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to Spaceflight Now, the SSC said its investigation concerning the SRB was also ongoing and that \u201cThe government team is working closely with ULA to resolve the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bruno said from his perspective, that anomaly shouldn\u2019t stand in the way of certifying Vulcan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t speak for the government, but that\u2019s not how the certification plan works. You\u2019re not necessarily expected to fly without observations. You are expected to prove that the architecture of the rocket works and that it would have the performance required to do the missions,\u201d Bruno said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not unusual to come through certification with something like that and the process for that, which is also described in the certification plan, is called a \u2018joint handling plan.\u2019 So, anything that you see that needs to be dealt with, the way it would be dealt with if you were already certified, goes into that and then runs its own course. And in fact, they can be opportunities to improve the rocket. They can also be liens against future missions where it\u2019s something you want to resolve before you fly again, just like routine business post-certification.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67524\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67524\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67524\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241005-Vulcan_CERT-2_Liftoff.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241005-Vulcan_CERT-2_Liftoff.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241005-Vulcan_CERT-2_Liftoff-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67524\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vulcan climbs away from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly after sunrise on Oct. 4, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bruno said that, as with the rest of the Vulcan development process, the government will be alongside ULA as it responds to the SRB nozzle anomaly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe show them everything we do. I mean, they don\u2019t have to ask. They are literally embedded in our team,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cI am making minor modifications to those parts of the nozzle that are involved in this and we\u2019re definitely going to test them and they\u2019ll get all the data. They can be present and witness the test, if they want to.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>ULA in 2025<\/h4>\n<p>While ULA completes the certification process for Vulcan, it is also looking at the new year and several more missions than it flew in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Bruno said ULA has 20 missions on its 2025 manifest, but couched that number by saying that the final tally at the end of the year will partly depend on the readiness of the payloads. He said the 20 launches are split fairly evenly between Atlas 5 rockets and Vulcan, with slightly more for the former.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou rarely have more flights in the year than you were expecting because you\u2019re at the end of the journey. You are waiting. You\u2019re the last step,\u201d Bruno said in reference to being the launch provider. \u201cYou\u2019re waiting for the satellite and so, if they are delayed at all, then typically they move into the next year. They never go away, they just move around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Vulcan potentially waiting until spring to launch again, Bruno said there is the possibility that a launch for Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper satellite internet constellation could move to the front of the launch line in the new year. Amazon purchased nine launches for its satellites on Atlas 5 rockets and 38 on Vulcan rockets<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s possible to have one satellite customer over another and because we have a stockpile of rockets, which is kind of unusual, normally, you build it, you fly it, you build another one. We would be able to do that,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cAnd I would certainly want anyone who is ready to go to space able to go to space.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_64023\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64023\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64023\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-Atlas-5-launch-ascent-Michael.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-Atlas-5-launch-ascent-Michael.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-Atlas-5-launch-ascent-Michael-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-64023\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 roars away from Cape Canaveral with the first Amazon Project Kuiper satellites. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The new year will also be busy for ULA in other respects. It will complete work on Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to support Vulcan launches from the Western Range. It will also roll the final Atlas 5 rocket out of its factory in Decatur, Alabama, and close down that assembly line.<\/p>\n<p>Bruno said they\u2019ll deliver the last two Atlas 5 rockets \u201cin the next couple of months.\u201d He said they are just waiting on two parts from suppliers to finish off those rockets, which will then be moved into storage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect to fly all except the Starliner Atlases out in \u201925 or perhaps early \u201926,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cThe only thing left from that point forward are what we call the PCMs, Primary Crew Missions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/2024\/12\/18\/space-force-says-first-national-security-vulcan-launch-now-anticipated-in-spring-2025\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan first stage booster into the Vertical Integration Facility-G (VIF-G) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138758\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}