What is the ULA Vulcan? What to know ahead of national security mission
Here's everything to know about the Vulcan rocket, and the United Launch Alliance's future plans for the spacecraft.
- United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket is preparing for its fourth launch and second national security mission.
- The upcoming mission will carry the rocket's heaviest payload to date on its longest-ever flight.
- ULA plans for the Vulcan to replace its retired Delta IV and aging Atlas V rockets as its main workhorse.
The powerful Vulcan rocket faces its biggest test yet as it prepares to launch on its second national security spaceflight from Florida.
This time around, a rocket meant to become the United Launch Alliance's workhorse will be carrying its heaviest-ever payload on its longest-ever mission.
All told, the upcoming spaceflight is Vulcan's fourth launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and its second mission for the U.S. Space Force since it was certified to transport military technology in March 2025.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA,) a Colorado-based launch service provider, has big plans for Vulcan. A joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, ULA has already retired its venerable Delta IV rocket and is phasing out its Atlas V to make way for the up-and-coming Vulcan.
Here's everything to know about the Vulcan rocket, and the United Launch Alliance's future plans for the spacecraft.
What is the ULA Vulcan rocket, Centaur V?
Vulcan stands at 202 feet tall when fully stacked and is designed to fly with anywhere from zero to six solid rocket boosters – in addition to the main 109-foot-tall booster. The possibility for additional solid rocket boosters, which add more oomph to that initial burst of thrust at liftoff, means the heavy-lift vehicle is capable of carrying a lot of cargo to varying orbital heights.
The rocket's Centaur V upper stage is more than 41 feet tall and, with two engines providing 23,825 pounds of thrust, is what powers the spacecraft to reach such extreme orbital heights after separation.
Vulcan is capable of carrying to space a maximum of 60,000 pounds of cargo, comparable to the weight of about 10 pickup trucks – at least for missions to an altitude closer to Earth, known as low-Earth orbit. The payload max for Vulcan is also about 10,000 pounds heavier than what SpaceX's Falcon 9 – the most active rocket in the world – can transport to low-Earth orbit, despite being nearly 30 feet shorter.
What are the United Launch Alliance's plans for the Vulcan?
In the years ahead, the U.S. Space Force has assigned nearly two dozen national security launches to Vulcan rockets at both Cape Canaveral and the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California.
In addition to national security spaceflights, the United Launch Alliances is aiming to price missions low enough that Vulcan attracts both civil and commercial customers. In 2026 alone, ULA executives are projecting 18 to 22 launches in for Vulcan.
When has the Vulcan launched?
Vulcan's maiden spaceflight on Jan. 8, 2024 to propel Astrobotic's ill-fated Peregrine robotic lunar lander into space also doubled as a Space Force certification flight for national security missions. While the launch itself was a success, the Peregrine encountered a slew of issues that prevented it from ever making it to the moon.
Vulcan launched again Oct. 4, 2024 on its second certification spaceflight, carrying a non-deployable test payload into deep space.
The last launch for Vulcan came Aug. 12, 2025 when it sent up a pair of U.S. Space Force national security satellites.
When is the next Vulcan rocket launch from Florida?
Coming up, a Vulcan rocket equipped with four side-mounted solid rocket boosters is set to get off the ground between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. Feb. 12 from Florida.
The fully integrated spacecraft is already vertical at Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where it will lift off atop a staggering nearly 3 million pounds of thrust. The force of the blast should make both the launch and the powerful spacecraft bright and widely visible much further away than what is typical for rocket launches in Florida.
Ahead of the Vulcan will then be a mission known as USSF-87 expected to last about 10 hours in which it will help deploy in space a spacecraft built by Virginia-based aerospace company Northrop Grumman. Built on behalf of Space Force, the technology is designed to help detect disturbances to space systems in a geosynchronous orbit, which matches Earth's 24-hour rotation.
At more than 22,000 miles above Earth, the orbit to which the spacecraft will be deployed is significantly higher than the International Space Station, which orbits about 250 miles high.
Is Vulcan replacing Delta IV for United Launch Alliance?
The United Launch Alliance is planning for the Vulcan to replace both its Atlas V and the now-retired Delta IV – becoming the company's main workhorse, particularly for national security missions.
The Delta IV was retired in April 2024 after its final national security mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The flight was not only the last Delta IV Heavy launch, but the final mission in ULA’s Delta family of rockets.
The Delta IV Heavy also famously transported NASA's Parker Solar Probe in 2018 and served on the first orbital test flight of the Orion crew capsule in 2014 – though it never carried astronauts to space.
Atlas V still flying missions for ULA
The Atlas V flew 58 national security missions between 2007 and July 2024.
On June 5, 2024, the rocket also made its 100th overall launch in a long-awaited mission to send Boeing's now-infamous Starliner capsule toward the International Space Station with two NASA astronauts aboard. The flight marked the first crewed flight for both Atlas V and Starliner – a mission that made headlines in 2024 and 2025 when its astronauts instead returned to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle.
ULA is expected to use the Atlas V rocket for another Boeing Starliner mission in April to the space station – this one without a crew.
Atlas V has also served as the launch vehicle for four of seven Amazon LEO internet satellite deployments from Cape Canaveral. However, Vulcan is expected to soon begin delivering the satellites to low-Earth orbit as well.
Contributing: Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY Network
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected].