spacetoday.net: ULA launches second Vulcan Centaur

Posted: Sat, Oct 5, 2024, 10:06 AM ET (1406 GMT)
Vulcan Centaur Cert-2 launch (ULA)

ULA's Vulcan Centaur completed its second flight Friday morning but appeared to suffer a problem with one of its solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The Vulcan lifted off from Cape Canaveral on the Cert-2 mission at 7:25 am EDT (1125 GMT). About 35 seconds after liftoff, material came off one of the two SRBs and its plume changed appearance. The vehicle, though, remained on its trajectory and reached orbit, completing the second Centaur burn on schedule 35 minutes after liftoff. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said after the second Centaur burn that there was an "observation" with the SRB but that the rest of the flight was nominal. Cert-2 is the second of two launches needed by ULA to win Space Force certification for national security launches.