USSF-106 – Spaceflight Now

ULA launches Vulcan rocket on first Space Force mission

August 13, 2025 William Harwood

Equipped with four solid-fuel strap-on boosters for additional takeoff power, the 198-foot-tall Vulcan’s two methane-fueled BE-4 engines thundered to life at 8:56p.m. EDT, instantly propelling the rocket away from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Launch preview: ULA to launch first national security mission on a Vulcan rocket

August 12, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission, dubbed USSF-106, will be the first Vulcan rocket launch since the vehicle was certified by the United States Space Force in late March. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is schedule for 7:59 p.m. EDT (2359 UTC).

ULA’s Tory Bruno lays out plans for ramping up launch cadence

August 7, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

United Launch Alliance will launch the USSF-106 mission as its first flight for the U.S. Space Force using a Vulcan rocket. The vehicle will carry two satellite missions onboard.

ULA begins stacking its 1st Vulcan rocket supporting a national security mission

July 3, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

This is the second time the rocket is being prepared for launch following a months long delay in certifying the launch vehicle. ULA hasn’t announced a specific launch date, but it’s expected sometime this summer.

U.S. Space Force certifies ULA’s Vulcan rocket to begin launching national security missions

March 27, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The conclusion of certification closes out a process that began in September 2016 and saw the government closely track the development of Vulcan alongside United Launch Alliance. Its first National Security Space Launch mission is targeting liftoff over the summer.

ULA begins de-stacking Vulcan rocket, pivots to Atlas 5 launch of Amazon’s Kuiper satellites for first 2025 mission

February 7, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The change in manifest comes as the U.S. Space Force’s Assured Access to Space continues the certification process for the Vulcan rocket. United Launch Alliance will begin stacking an Atlas rocket in the coming weeks.

Space Force says first national security Vulcan launch now anticipated in spring 2025

December 18, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The first mission for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket as part of the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract will be USSF-106. ULA began stacking the rocket that will support this mission in October 2024.

ULA’s Vulcan rocket in “final phase” of certification, awaiting first national security launch date

November 3, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

Vulcan completed the second of two planned certification mission on Oct. 4. ULA began stacking the rocket for the USSF-106 mission on Oct. 21.

ULA begins stacking Vulcan rocket in anticipation of first national security mission

October 23, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The USSF-106 mission will be the first launch of the Vulcan rocket once it receives certification to support missions on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. A launch date has not yet been announced for the third Vulcan flight.

United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket

May 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance could load cryogenic methane and liquid oxygen propellants into a Vulcan rocket test article at Cape Canaveral for the first time in the coming weeks, timing key tests for the next-generation rocket in between flights of Atlas 5 rockets that will share the same launch complex for the next few years.