ULA’s Vulcan Gets USSF Payloads to Orbit Despite Another SRB Anomaly

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) new Vulcan rocket delivered U.S. Space Force satellites to geosynchronous orbit today despite a “significant performance anomaly” on one of the Solid Rocket Boosters. This was only the fourth launch of Vulcan and the second time an SRB malfunctioned. In both cases Vulcan’s core stage compensated for the underperformance and put the payloads where they needed to go. ULA and its partners are investigating what happened.

Vulcan’s liftoff this morning at 4:22 am ET carrying the U.S. Space Force’s USSF-87 mission began well.

To recap, Vulcan launched at 4:22 a.m. EST (0922 UTC) from Cape Canaveral for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command. At the request of our customer, this will conclude our live coverage of today’s countdown and liftoff of USSF-87. https://t.co/cFp7QRXjp7 pic.twitter.com/E5oDbh0jLv

— ULA (@ulalaunch) February 12, 2026

Two, four, or six Northrop Grumman Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) with GEM 63XL Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) can be attached to the lower part of Vulcan to provide additional thrust. There were four on this flight and ULA confirmed one malfunctioned. ULA’s full launch video is posted on YouTube.

The rocket’s core stage, or booster, compensated for the SRM’s underperformance and the Centaur V upper stage performed as expected, sending the payloads to their correct destinations in geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of about 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers).

“Early during flight, the team observed a significant performance anomaly on one of the four solid rocket motors. Despite the observation, the Vulcan booster and Centaur performed nominally and delivered the spacecraft directly to geosynchronous orbit,’ said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Atlas and Vulcan Programs. “The integrated U.S. government and contractor team is reviewing the technical data, available imagery, and establishing a recovery team to collect any debris. We will conduct a thorough investigation, identify root cause, and implement any corrective action necessary before the next Vulcan mission.” — ULA statement

Vulcan can deliver payloads directly to that altitude unlike most rockets that put satellites into a transfer orbit and the satellites use their own propulsion systems for the rest of the journey over days or weeks. Geosynchronous satellites orbit Earth every 24 hours. If they are over the equator, they maintain a fixed position relative to a point on Earth and are geostationary.

Northrop Grumman told SpacePolicyOnline.com via email that it is working with ULA to understand what happened.

“During today’s successful launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket and its USSF-87 mission, the team observed an anomaly on one of Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters. We continue to work with our ULA partners to collect data and understand this event.” — Northrop Grumman

The USSF’s Space Systems Command (SSC) agreed that the satellites arrived in their correct orbits and said they’ll work closely with ULA before their next launch.

“We’re proud of everyone and the work they’ve done to make today’s launch a success and increase America’s warfighting capability.” said Mr. Stephen Burke, Vulcan System Program Director.

“The Vulcan rocket successfully delivered the mission to the designated orbits despite an observed anomaly early in flight on one of the four solid rocket motors. The USSF SYD 80 team will work closely with ULA per our mission assurance space flightworthiness process before the next Vulcan national security space mission.” — Space Systems Command

Vulcan is replacing ULA’s Atlas V which relies on Russian RD-180 engines. After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 during its first invasion of Ukraine, Congress prohibited the use of rockets with Russian engines from launching U.S. national security satellites after a certain period of time. ULA decided to replace both its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets with Vulcan. The last Delta IV launched in April 2024. The law did not affect civil or commercial use of rockets with Russian engines. Atlas V continues to launch satellites for commercial customers, but its final national security launch was in July 2024.

The U.S. Space Force requires new rockets to be certified before putting their critical, expensive satellites on board. It’s up to the launch service provider, ULA in this case, to execute those certification missions. ULA chose a two-launch certification option. The first, Cert-1, in January 2024 went perfectly, but on Cert-2 in October 2024 one of the SRB nozzles fell off. After extensive analysis that traced the cause to a defective SRM insulator, the Space Force certified Vulcan in March 2025 and Vulcan’s first national security launch, USSF-106, took place last August.

The satellites are part of USSF’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, GSSAP. SSC said this mission includes a variety of payloads to advance space technology and “enhance and validate resiliency and protection in geosynchronous orbit.”

“The USSF-87 mission included a variety of payloads that will not only advance space technology but also benefit current and future programs of record. The Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) space system is a capability supporting U.S. Space Command’s space surveillance operations as a high-performance, dedicated Space Surveillance Network sensor. Built by Northrop-Grumman, it was deployed approximately 6.5 hours after liftoff. …

“In addition to GSSAP, USSF-87 included additional research, development and training systems, which Guardians will use to refine tactics, techniques and procedures for precision on-orbit maneuvers. These systems will also enhance and validate resiliency and protection in geosynchronous orbit.” — Space Systems Command

ULA has been endeavoring to increase its annual launch cadence, but this likely will be another setback. The company told SpacePolicyOnline.com that it has a backlog of more than 80 orders. Ten Atlas Vs remain to be launched and all are under contract to non-national security customers. The others are for Vulcan. In total the split is roughly 60 percent commercial and 40 percent government. They’re planning 18-22 launches in 2026.

Last year, ULA’s then-president and CEO Tory Bruno anticipated nine total ULA launches in 2025, ramping up to 20-25 in 2026. They had six in 2025: one Vulcan and five Atlas Vs.

ULA is a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Bruno left ULA in December and moved over to competitor Blue Origin. John Elbon is ULA’s interim CEO.

 

This article has been updated.