By Osama 
United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched its second Vulcan Centaur rocket on October 4, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission, known as Cert-2, was crucial for certifying the Vulcan Centaur to carry national security payloads. Despite a minor issue with one of its solid rocket boosters (SRBs), the mission proceeded successfully.
The Vulcan Centaur lifted off at 7:25 a.m. Eastern, after a brief delay for additional pre-launch checks. The initial countdown was halted just 1 minute and 51 seconds before liftoff due to a transient issue in a redundant data system. However, the problem was quickly resolved, and the rocket launched on the second attempt.
In the early stages of the flight, the vehicle performed nominally. However, about 35 seconds after liftoff, material was observed coming off one of the SRBs, and the appearance of its plume suggested damage to the booster’s nozzle. This anomaly caused the separation of the two GEM 63XL SRBs to occur nearly 30 seconds later than planned. Despite this, the Centaur upper stage completed its second burn approximately 35 minutes after liftoff, concluding the main phase of the flight.
ULA’s CEO, Tory Bruno, acknowledged the observation of the SRB anomaly and stated that the team would investigate further after the mission. He emphasized that aside from this issue, the flight was nominal.
The Cert-2 mission was primarily a test flight, carrying only a mass simulator and instrumentation. Initially, ULA planned to launch Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane on this flight. However, due to delays in the Dream Chaser’s readiness, it was replaced with an inert payload.
ULA aims to gain Space Force certification for the Vulcan Centaur to conduct two national security missions, USSF-106 and USSF-87, before the end of the year. The successful completion of the Cert-2 mission marks a significant step towards this goal, demonstrating the Vulcan Centaur’s capabilities despite the SRB anomaly.
For more details, you can read the original article on SpaceNews.
Sadiq Al Gobahi