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The United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket sits on the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset.
ORLANDO, Florida—United Launch Alliance (ULA) is exploring ways to turn its Centaur upper stage into a rocket that can dynamically move around space as the U.S. military warns against an increasingly contested and congested domain.
ULA CEO Tory Bruno envisions a platform that is “lightning-fast, long-range and, if necessary, very lethal,” he said Dec. 12 at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference here. If an adversary spacecraft begins moving toward a U.S. asset in a concerning manner, such a platform could in theory intercept the spacecraft within hours, “and if necessary, remove their assets off the board,” Bruno stressed.
He told reporters ULA is making improvements to the Centaur V platform that would provide it with additional duration on orbit. The upper stage that was flown on Vulcan’s recent certification mission can last about 12 hr. on orbit. The goal is to last for days, “and longer,” he said.
Vulcan was launched Oct. 4 for its second certification flight to carry U.S. military missions to space under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. It is awaiting certification from the U.S. Space Force. On the previous flight, ULA flew a nondeployable, 3,366-lb. mass simulator outfitted with instruments to test technologies to expand the Centaur V’s capabilities, including the ability to support space operations lasting weeks to months.
Bruno said ULA will pursue “incremental improvements” to the upper stage throughout the next couple of years to expand its on-orbit duration.
“There are several things that, as you put them all there, they incrementally extend that life and capability,” he explained.
On-orbit maneuverability is a top priority for U.S. Space Command (Spacecom). The U.S. military is developing a new doctrine of dynamic space operations, in which assets on orbit can maneuver without regret amid increasing competition in the domain and emerging threats from Russia and China.
The Space Force recently disclosed that the Boeing X-37B spaceplane performed a novel aerobraking maneuver during its current mission. The orbital test vehicle, built by Boeing, is on its seventh mission since it was launched Dec. 28, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center.
The aerobraking maneuver allowed the X-37B to bridge multiple orbital regimes, Spacecom Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting said Dec. 11 in a keynote speech here.
“We think this is exactly the kind of maneuverability we’d like to see in future systems, which will unlock a whole new series of operational concepts,” he said.
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