https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(rocket)
Vulcan is a next generation heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) to meet the demands of the United States Air Force's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) competition and launch program.
The maiden flight is planned to take place in July 2021, launching Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander.
 | |
Vulcan configuration as of 2015 with sub-5.4 m Centaur
| |
| Function | Launch vehicle, partial reuse planned |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | United Launch Alliance |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 58.3 m (191 ft) |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Mass | 546,700 kg (1,205,300 lb) |
| Stages | 2 and boosters |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 34,900 kg (76,900 lb) (Vulcan Heavy Centaur) |
| Payload to GTO | 16,300 kg (35,900 lb) (Vulcan Heavy Centaur) |
| Payload to GEO | 7,200 kg (15,900 lb) (Vulcan Heavy Centaur) |
| Launch history | |
| Launch sites | |
| First flight | Planned: July 2021 |
| Boosters | |
| No. boosters | 0–6 |
| Motor | GEM-63XL |
| Thrust | 2,201.7 kN (495,000 lbf) |
| Fuel | HTPB |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Engines | 2× BE-4 |
| Thrust | 4,900 kN (1,100,000 lbf) |
| Fuel | CH4/LOX |
| Second stage – Centaur V | |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Engines | 2× RL-10 |
| Thrust | 212 kN (48,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 448.5 seconds (4.398 km/s) |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
| Second stage – ACES (proposed, mid-2020s) | |
| Diameter | 5.4 m (18 ft) |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
Vulcan is a next generation heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) to meet the demands of the United States Air Force's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) competition and launch program.
The maiden flight is planned to take place in July 2021, launching Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander.
Vehicle description
Vulcan is ULA's first launch vehicle design, adapting and evolving various technologies previously developed for the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets of the USAF's EELV program.
The first stage propellant tanks share the diameter of the Delta IV
Common Booster Core, but will contain liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellants instead of the Delta IV's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Vulcan's upper stage is the Centaur V, an upgraded variant of the Common Centaur/Centaur III currently used on the Atlas V. A lengthened version of the Centaur V will be used on the Vulcan Centaur Heavy. Current plans call for the Centaur V to be eventually upgraded with Integrated Vehicle Fluids technology to become the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES). Vulcan is intended to undergo the human-rating certification process to allow the launch of crew, such as the Boeing's CST-100 Starliner or Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser Space System .
The Vulcan booster will have a 5.4 m (18 ft) outer diameter to support the methane fuel burned by the Blue Origin BE-4 engines. The BE-4 was selected to power Vulcan's first stage in September 2018 after a competition with the Aerojet Rocketdyne AR1.
Zero to six Graphite-Epoxy Motor-63XL (GEM-63XL) solid rocket boosters (SRB)s can be attached to the first stage in pairs,
providing additional thrust during the first part of the flight and
allowing the six-SRB Vulcan Centaur Heavy to launch a higher mass
payload than the most capable Atlas V 551 or Delta IV Heavy.
Vulcan will have a 5.4 m diameter fairing available in two lengths. The longer fairing is 21 m long, with a volume of 317 m3.
Payload mass capabilities
As of October 19, 2018, the current Vulcan Centaur payload figures were:
| Version | SRBs | Payload to LEO (kg) | Payload to ISS (kg) | Payload to polar LEO (kg) | Payload to GTO (kg) | Payload to GEO (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Centaur | 2 | 17,800 | 15,300 | 14,300 | 7,400 | 2,050 |
| Vulcan Centaur | 4 |
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|
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| Vulcan Centaur | 6 | 27,500 | 24,200 | 22,300 | 13,300 | 6,000 |
| Vulcan Centaur Heavy | 6 | 34,900 | 31,400 | 27,900 | 16,300 | 7,200 |
| NSSL requirement |
|
6,800 |
|
17,000 | 8,165 | 6,600 |
These capabilities are driven by the need to meet USAF NSSL requirements, with room for future growth. As can be seen, the direct GEO orbit is the most demanding, with Vulcan Centaur Heavy only 600 kg above the requirement.
History
The United Launch Alliance inherited the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicle families when the company was formed in 2006. Both were first flown in 2002.
By early 2014 it was clear that ULA would have to develop a new launch vehicle to replace its existing fleet. Additionally, the Atlas V booster uses a Russian RD-180 engine, which led to a push to replace the RD-180 with a U.S. built engine during the Ukrainian crisis of 2014.
Relying on foreign hardware to launch critical national security
spacecraft was also seen as undesirable. Formal study contracts were
issued by ULA in June 2014 to several U.S. rocket engine suppliers. ULA was also facing competition from SpaceX, then seen to affect ULA's core national security market of U.S. military launches, and by July 2014 the United States Congress was debating whether to legislate a ban on future use of the RD-180.
In September 2014, ULA announced that it had entered into a partnership with Blue Origin to develop the BE-4 liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (CH4) engine to replace the RD-180 on a new first stage booster. At the time, ULA expected the new booster to start flying no earlier than 2019. ULA has consistently referred to Vulcan as a 'next generation launch system'.
Initial concept
On April 13, 2015, CEO Tory Bruno introduced Vulcan, a new launch vehicle
that would incorporate proven technologies, with the name selected by
an online poll. ULA stated its goal was to sell the basic Vulcan for
half the then-current $164 million price of a basic Atlas V rocket. Addition of strap-on boosters for heavier satellites would increase the price. The first launch was initially planned for 2019.
ULA announced an incremental approach to rolling out the vehicle and its technologies.
Vulcan deployment was expected to begin with a new first stage based on
the Delta IV's fuselage diameter and production process and initially
expected to use two BE-4 engines, with the AR-1 as an alternate. The initial second stage was planned to be the Common Centaur/Centaur III from the Atlas V, with its existing RL-10
engine. A later upgrade, the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES),
was conceptually planned for full development in the late 2010s and
introduction a few years after Vulcan's first flight.
The planned ACES upper stage was announced to be liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) powered by one to four rocket engines yet to be selected, and would include the Integrated Vehicle Fluids technology that could allow much longer on-orbit life of the upper stage, measured in weeks rather than hours.
SMART Reuse
Also
announced during the initial April 13, 2015 unveiling was the 'Sensible
Modular Autonomous Return Technology' (SMART) reuse concept. The
booster engines, avionics, and thrust structure would be detached as a
module from the propellant tanks after booster engine cutoff, with the module descending through the atmosphere
under an inflatable heat shield. After parachute deployment, the module
would be captured by a helicopter in mid-air. ULA estimated that this
would reduce the cost of the first stage propulsion by 90%, with
propulsion 65% of the total first stage cost.
Funding
Through the first several years, the ULA board of directors made quarterly funding commitments to Vulcan Centaur development. As of October 2018, the US government had committed approximately US$1.2 billion in a public–private partnership to Vulcan Centaur development, with future funding being dependent on ULA securing an NSSL contract.
By March 2016, the US Air Force had committed up to US$202 million
of funding for Vulcan development. At that time, ULA had not yet
estimated the total cost of Vulcan development, but CEO Tory Bruno noted
that "new rockets typically cost $2 billion, including $1 billion for
the main engine."
In April 2016, ULA Board of Directors member and President of Boeing's
Network and Space Systems (N&SS) division Craig Cooning expressed
confidence in the possible of further USAF funding of Vulcan
development.
In March 2018, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that Vulcan-Centaur had been "75 percent privately funded" up to that time.
In October 2018 and following a request for proposals and technical
evaluation, ULA was awarded $967 million to develop a prototype Vulcan
launch system as a part of the National Security Space Launch program. Two other providers, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems,
were also awarded development funding, with detailed proposals and a
competitive selection process to follow in 2019. The USAF's goal with
the next generation of Launch Service Agreements is to get out of the business of "buying rockets" and move to acquiring launch services from launch service providers, but U.S. government funding of launch vehicle development continues.
Path to production
In September 2015, ULA and Blue Origin announced an agreement to expand the production capabilities of the BE-4 rocket engine then in development and test.
In January 2016, ULA was designing two versions of the Vulcan
first stage. The BE-4 version has a 5.4 m diameter to support the use of
less-dense methane fuel.
In late 2017, the upper stage was changed to the larger and heavier Centaur V, and the overall launch vehicle was renamed Vulcan Centaur. The single core Vulcan Centaur will be capable of lifting "30% more" than a Delta IV Heavy, meeting the NSSL requirements.
In May 2018, ULA announced the selection of Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 engine for the Vulcan Centaur upper stage. In September 2018, ULA announced the selection of the Blue Origin BE-4 engine for Vulcan's booster.
In October 2018, the USAF released an NSSL launch service
agreement with additional requirements, delaying Vulcan's initial launch
to April 2021 after an earlier slip to 2020.
On July 8, 2019, images of two Vulcan qualification test articles
were released by CEO Tory Bruno on Twitter: the liquefied natural gas
(fuel) tank and thrust structure. On July 9, 2019, an image of a Vulcan payload attach fitting (PAF) was released by Peter Guggenbach, the CEO of RUAG Space. On July 31, 2019, two images of the mated LNG tank and thrust structure were released by CEO Tory Bruno on Twitter.
On 2 August 2019, Blue Origin released on twitter an image of a BE-4 engine at full power on a test stand. On 6 August 2019, the first two parts of Vulcan's mobile launch platform (MLP) were transported
to the Solid Motor Assembly and Readiness Facility (SMARF) near SLC-40
and SLC-41, Cape Canaveral. The MLP was fabricated in eight sections and
will move at 3 mph on existing rail dollies and stand 183 feet tall.
On 12 August 2019, ULA submitted Vulcan Centaur for phase 2 of
the USAF's launch services competition. As of that time, Vulcan Centaur
was on track for a 2021 launch.
Certification flights
On 14 August 2019, it was announced that the second Vulcan certification flight will be the first of six Dream Chaser CRS-2 flights. Launches are planned to begin in 2021 and will use the four-SRB Vulcan configuration.
On 19 August 2019, it was announced that Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lander will launch on the first Vulcan certification flight. Peregrine is currently intended to launch in 2021 from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
