The Vulcan Centaur rocket ahead of its second launch in October of 2024. Photo: ULA

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket is now certified for U.S. national security missions after receiving certification from the U.S. Space Force. 

Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization announced the certification on Wednesday for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions. ULA is now eligible to launch NSSL missions as one of two certified providers, the other being SpaceX. 

The first two Vulcan launches, which took place in January 2024 and October 2024, were part of the certification process. The Vulcan rocket experienced a nozzle anomaly on the second mission, but it did not impact orbital insertion. The certification process included 52 criteria including more than 180 discrete tasks, 60 payload interface requirement verifications, 18 subsystem design and test reviews, and 114 hardware and software audits. 

“Assured access to space is a core function of the Space Force and a critical element of national security,” Brig. Gen. Panzenhagen, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said in a release. “Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation’s most critical space-based systems.”

Both ULA and SpaceX have provided launch services to the government under SSC’s NSSL program. In October, SpaceX received the first task orders under Phase 3 Lane 1 of the NSSL program, worth $734 million. SSC is expected to announce more awards for Phase 3, Lane 1 this spring. Blue Origin is also eligible to compete for task orders in Phase 3, Lane 1, but the New Glenn rocket does not have NSSL certification yet. 

“Vulcan is uniquely designed to meet the challenging requirements demanded by an expanding spectrum of missions for U.S. national security space launches,” ULA CEO Tory Bruno commented in a release. “Moreover, this next-generation rocket provides high performance and extreme accuracy while continuing to deliver to our customer’s most challenging and exotic orbits.”

This certification comes later than ULA originally projected. Before the second Vulcan launch, Bruno said ULA would launch two more Vulcan missions for the Space Force before the end of 2024.