ULA targets November 13 for Vulcan return to flight

United Launch Alliance announced plans to return the Vulcan rocket to service on November 13. The mission is scheduled for nine months after a solid rocket booster anomaly occurred in February. The launch will deploy 40 satellites for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This flight represents the first of 38 Vulcan missions booked by Amazon to deploy its network. The launch date remains pending approval from the range.

The Vulcan rocket suffered nozzle failures on two of its first four missions. The most recent failure occurred during a flight in February. In both previous cases, the rocket overcame the issue and completed its mission. Investigators blamed the first occurrence in 2024 on a manufacturing defect in an insulator. ULA stated that engineers have identified potential contributors to the anomaly and mitigated them through design and process improvements. The upcoming launch will utilize the improved nozzle design.

Space Force officials want to see data from commercial flights on Vulcan before clearing ULA to resume national security launches. The Pentagon has entrusted ULA's Vulcan rocket for roughly half of its major launches through the early 2030s. The Space Force certified the Vulcan rocket for national security launches in 2025. The launch next month will be the first to fly with a full complement of six solid rocket boosters.