United Launch Alliance postpones Vulcan rocket launch to spring 2021

United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin rocket engineering and launch components, has announced that the first launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket under development has been postponed to spring 2021.

According to United Launch Alliance, from a technical point of view, the new rocket will be ready for a first launch as early as 2020, but it company chooses to postpone it to April 2021. This postponement is related to the renewed schedule of the US Air Force. ULA wants to qualify for a so-called Launch Service Agreement. That is an agreement by which the Air Force selects companies to put payloads into orbit in the context of US national security.

The Air Force has previously signed contracts for this with Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and ULA. It is intended that Blue Origins New Glenn rocket, Northrop Grummans OmegA and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket will be certified to carry these payloads. There are certain requirements for this, and the resulting first scheduled certification flight for the Vulcan is now scheduled for April 2021. SpaceX is not one of the companies selected for a Launch Service Agreement. It is believed that Elon Musk’s company has tried to win a contract, but no details are known about that.

United Launch Alliance recently announced that it has chosen Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine for its new rocket. This rocket engine, which will also be included in Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, uses methane for propulsion.

The Vulcan Centaur is to outperform existing missile capabilities and launch services at a significantly lower cost. Compared to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the rocket can take heavier payloads into low Earth orbit. The rocket is also suitable for transporting Boeing’s Starliner capsule, with which the aircraft manufacturer wants to fly astronauts to the ISS from next year.

Render of the Vulcan Centaur