Artist rendition of the future Vulcan vehicle during lift off. Photo: ULA

[Via Satellite 03-25-2016] United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle with dual Blue Origin BE-4 engines. The PDR confirms that the design meets the requirements for handling a diverse set of missions for commercial and government customers. The ULA team plans to build upon this milestone to refine and test key elements of the design while executing a busy manifest of 14 launches in 2016.

The Vulcan Centaur rocket design conflates features from the Delta 4 and Atlas 5 launch vehicles while introducing new technologies. ULA intends to replace the Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets with the more competitive Vulcan Centaur.

In addition to the Blue Origin BE-4 engine, Aerojet Rocketdyne is developing the AR1 engine, which could power the Vulcan Centaur. ULA also has strategic partnerships with Orbital ATK for the solid rocket boosters, and Ruag Space for domestically produced composite structures.

“The completion of the Vulcan Centaur rocket’s PDR is the first of several major and very exciting milestones in the launch vehicle’s development,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “We have a strong path to get to a 2019 flight test of this new, highly-capable American launch vehicle.”