Vulcan VC6L

Active

United Launch Alliance (ULA)

None

Description

Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit, heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2014. It is principally designed to meet launch demands for the U.S. government's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program for use by the United States Space Force and U.S. intelligence agencies for national security satellite launches. It will replace both of ULA's existing launchers (Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy) in this role, as these launchers are retiring.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    67.4 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    877.0 T
  • Thrust
    18110.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Vulcan VC6L
  • Family
  • Variant
    VC6L
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Vulcan VC6L
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    27200.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    15300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    7000.0 kg
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    23900.0 kg

United Launch Alliance

Commercial
CEO: Tory Bruno
ULA 2006

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandeberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.

Upcoming Spaceflights


Vulcan VC6L | Project Kuiper (Vulcan #1)

United Launch Alliance | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TBD March, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:

Project Kuiper is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, this constellation will be managed by Kuiper Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon. This constellation is planned to be composed of 3,276 satellites. The satellites are projected to be placed in 98 orbital planes in three orbital layers, one at 590 km, 610 km and 630 km altitude. 45 satellites will be carried on each Vulcan launch.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

KAIROS
Failure
9 hours, 6 minutes ago
Flight 2
Space One Launch Pad - Spaceport Kii, Japan

Second flight of the KAIROS launch vehicle. 5 satellites for testing various technologies will be on board: * TATARA-1 * PARUS-T1A * SC-Sat1…


Falcon 9
Success
12 hours, 40 minutes ago
O3b mPower 7 & 8
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Seventh and eighth of a constellation of eleven high-throughput communications satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) built by Boeing and operated by…


Falcon 9
Success
21 hours, 47 minutes ago
NROL-149
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Sixth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 10 hours ago
GPS III SV07 (RRT-1)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

GPS-III (Global Positioning System) is the first evolution stage of the third generation of the GPS satellites. It consists of the first ten (known a…


Long March 2D
Success
1 day, 16 hours ago
PIESAT-2 09-12
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.