Horn said the Space Force is still analyzing the Oct. 4 launch data, but for now he expects the agency to approve certification of the Vulcan rocket. The agreement between the Space Force and ULA requires two successful flights of the Vulcan rocket before the military can commission it for national security missions.
“The purpose of the certification plan requires that the certification flight successfully delivers the satellite or payload (in this case, a mass simulator) to its designated orbit…and that’s what happened,” Horn said. “So that means the mission has been successfully completed.”
He said early assessments by the Space Force indicate that even if the same booster malfunction occurred on either of the first two military missions scheduled to fly on Vulcan, the rocket would reach its target orbit with performance margins. He added that there is evidence that it could have been done.
“So the certificate flight was a success. We’re now reaching the final stage of certification,” Horn said.
Release date undecided
But it could take a little longer than the Space Force and ULA plan to sign the final documents to complete the certification process.
Engineers from ULA, booster supplier Northrop Grumman, the Space Force, the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA are participating in the investigation into the nozzle failure. Last week, a ULA spokesperson told Ars that the company had recovered pieces of a nozzle that fell from the rocket near the launch pad to assist in the investigation.
“If you zoom in on the video, you can probably see the thrust, the burnout of hot gases, at the bottom of the rocket section,” Horn said.
The second flight of ULA’s Vulcan rocket is headed toward orbit.
There was an unusual plume with slug or sparks from one of the solid rocket boosters that appeared at approximately T+37 seconds.
However, ULA reported nominal performance from the early stages of flight. pic.twitter.com/VewQyxfOdp
— Stephen Clark (@StephenClark1) October 4, 2024
Tory Bruno, CEO of ULA, posted on The post suggests that it is not. However, there was a visual indication that hot exhaust gases were blowing out directly above the bell nozzle, probably near where it was bolted to the booster body.