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2h ago

ULA Targets Up to 22 Launches in 2026 as Vulcan Readies USSF-87 GEO Mission

Fresh integration capacity with ready vehicles underpins the planned cadence.

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A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy leaps from its launch pad April 9, 2024 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission for the National Reconnaissance Office was the final payload for the venerable launch vehicle.
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Overview

  • Executives set a 2026 goal of 18 to 22 launches, including 16 to 18 on Vulcan and 2 to 4 on Atlas V.
  • The next Vulcan flight, USSF-87, is scheduled for Feb. 12 from Cape Canaveral with at least one geosynchronous space situational-awareness spacecraft and additional undisclosed payloads.
  • Officials describe USSF-87 as Vulcan’s heaviest payload to date on its longest mission, with a roughly 10-hour profile to place hardware in geosynchronous orbit.
  • New capacity includes a second Vertical Integration Facility, a second mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral to roughly double East Coast throughput, and Vandenberg’s SLC-3 modifications finishing by spring or early summer.
  • ULA cites an 80-plus-mission backlog, including 47 Amazon Leo launches, and an inventory of built rockets; interim CEO John Elbon, succeeding Tory Bruno, says issues from a 2024 booster anomaly that delayed certification to March 2025 are resolved.