spacetoday.net: Vulcan suffers booster anomaly on Space Force launch

Posted: Sun, Feb 15, 2026, 10:44 AM ET (1544 GMT)
ULA launched a classified Space Force mission on a Vulcan rocket early Thursday. The Vulcan lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 4:22 am EST (0922 GMT), about halfway into a two-hour window. During liftoff, some observers noticed an irregular plume on one of the four solid-rocket boosters, and ULA said later it had “an observation” on the booster but that the vehicle remained on a nominal trajectory. The USSF-87 mission is carrying the latest satellites for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), which carry optical sensors designed to track and characterize objects in and around GEO. Previous launches carried two GSSAP satellites each but the Space Force declined to identify the number on this launch. The launch also carried as a secondary payload a propulsive ESPA ring hosting additional spacecraft for the Space Force.