, Fla. — United Launch Alliance is working to return its Vulcan rocket to flight later this year, even as Blue Origin works to modify the BE-4 engines that power the Vulcan rocket and Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket.
On Thursday, ULA completed a full day of testing on a new Vulcan upper stage segment at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking another step toward the rocket’s return.
Vulcan has been grounded since February following a successful national security mission that experienced a solid rocket booster anomaly. Separately, Blue Origin is modifying the BE-4 engines after identifying an oxygen valve issue that caused an explosive static-fire anomaly during testing of its New Glenn rocket earlier this year.
ULA confirmed to Channel 9 that Blue Origin will retrofit BE-4 engines already in the company’s inventory, including engines at ULA’s factory in Decatur, Alabama, and at launch facilities at Cape Canaveral. The company says the work aligns with its goal of launching Vulcan again before the end of the year.
Space analyst Dr. Ken Kremer said while the BE-4 engines used on Vulcan differ slightly from those on New Glenn, ULA is taking a cautious approach to preserve the rocket’s perfect launch record.
Kremer said, “So far, ULA has 100% success rate. I’m sure they don’t want to sacrifice that.”
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