Function | Heavy-lift launch vehicle, partial reusable planned |
---|---|
Manufacturer | United Launch Alliance |
Country of origin | United States |
Cost per launch | Approx. US$100–200 million[1][2] |
Size | |
Height | 61.6–67.3 m (202–221 ft)[3] |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft)[4] |
Mass | 546,700 kg (1,205,300 lb) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to low Earth orbit (28.7°) | |
Mass | 27,200 kg (60,000 lb)[5] |
Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (27.0°) | |
Mass | 15,300 kg (33,700 lb),[5] |
Payload to geostationary orbit | |
Mass | 7,000 kg (15,000 lb)[5] |
Payload to trans-lunar injection | |
Mass | 12,100 kg (26,700 lb)[5] |
Launch history | |
Status | Operational |
Launch sites | |
Total launches | 1 |
Success(es) | 1 |
First flight | 8 January 2024[7] |
Boosters | |
No. boosters | 0, 2, 4, or 6[8] |
Powered by | GEM-63XL[9] |
Maximum thrust | 2,201.7 kN (495,000 lbf) |
Propellant | HTPB, Al / AP |
First stage | |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Powered by | 2 × BE-4 |
Maximum thrust | 4,900 kN (1,100,000 lbf) |
Propellant | CH4 / LOX |
Second stage – Centaur V | |
Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
Powered by | 2 × RL10[10] |
Maximum thrust | 212 kN (48,000 lbf)[11] |
Specific impulse | 453.8 s (4.450 km/s)[11] |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit, expendable, heavy-lift launch vehicle created and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is principally designed for the United States Space Force's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which launches satellites for the Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. It will replace ULA's existing heavy-lift Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets. Vulcan Centaur will also be used for commercial launches, including an order for 38 launches from Kuiper Systems.
Development of the Vulcan rocket started in 2014, largely in response to growing competition from SpaceX and a requirement to phase out the Russian RD-180 engine used on the Atlas V, with an inaugural flight slated for 2019.[2] After multiple delays over five years, which included problems with the development of the BE-4 engine and the new Centaur upper stage,[12] Vulcan Centaur launched the first time on 8 January 2024. The maiden flight carried Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lunar lander, the first mission of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.[13]
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