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Launch vehicle · Space

Vulcan Centaur

ULA heavy-lift rocket with Blue Origin BE-4 engines, certified for National Security Space Launch missions.

by United Launch Alliance · Unveiled Apr 13, 2015 · First fielded 2024

FieldedLaunch vehicleSpaceMilestoneFeb 12, 2026
Vulcan Centaur lifting off at night on the USSF-87 mission, February 2026

Photo: U.S. Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurzen · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Space Force) · Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop or retouching. Credit retained for factual editorial product coverage.

Milestones20152026
  1. UnveiledULA unveils Vulcan at Space Symposium, confirmed
  2. First flightInaugural Cert-1 launch, reported
  3. MilestoneCertified for National Security Space Launch missions, confirmed
  4. MilestoneSolid rocket booster anomaly on USSF-87 launch, reported

United Launch Alliance's successor to Atlas V and Delta IV, using two BE-4 first-stage engines and solid rocket boosters. Space Systems Command certified it for National Security Space Launch missions in March 2025.

Timeline4

  1. UnveiledConfirmed

    ULA unveils Vulcan at Space Symposium

    Public naming and design reveal of Vulcan, with Centaur as its initial upper stage; not the later first flight or a hardware rollout.

  2. First flightReported

    Inaugural Cert-1 launch

    The Cert-1 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine lander.

  3. MilestoneConfirmed

    Certified for National Security Space Launch missions

    Space Systems Command announced the certification on 26 March 2025, after Vulcan's two 2024 certification flights.

  4. MilestoneReported

    Solid rocket booster anomaly on USSF-87 launch

    One of four solid rocket boosters had a problem during the fourth Vulcan flight; the rocket stayed on its planned trajectory.

The latest 10 milestones. Solid entries are confirmed, outlined reported, dashed estimated or still to come; dotted italic entries are speculative. Dates show only the precision the sources give.

Operators1

  • USUnited States
First fielded
2024