ULA's Vulcan rocket is set to return to flight on Friday the 13th
This Vulcan launch will be the first to utilize a full complement of six solid rocket boosters.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) intends to resume operations of its Vulcan rocket on November 13, nine months following a solid rocket booster anomaly that disrupted the company's 2026 launch calendar. The return-to-flight mission will carry 40 satellites for Amazon's Leo broadband constellation, marking the first of 38 Vulcan flights Amazon has contracted for the deployment of its satellite network.
The launch is scheduled to occur from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with ULA stating that the date is contingent upon range approval. The launch is of significant importance to ULA, as its new flagship rocket experienced nozzle failures on two out of its first four missions, most recently in February. Despite overcoming the nozzle failures and successfully completing both missions, officials from the US Space Force, ULA's primary customer, lost confidence in the Vulcan rocket.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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