Launch
United Launch Alliance
American launch-services company formed from Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s rocket businesses, whose Vulcan carried Peregrine and national-security payloads.
- Launch services
- Launch vehicles
- Vulcan centaur
- Atlas v
- National security space
- Space industry
- International space
- Space companies
- Aerospace
- Launch
United Launch Alliance, LLC provides rocket launch services for government and commercial missions. The joint venture began operations on December 1, 2006, combining Boeing’s Delta and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas launch-vehicle businesses. Its formation announcement described the consolidation of mission management, engineering, production, testing and launch operations..
ULA lists its headquarters functions in Denver, Colorado, including programme management, engineering, testing and mission support. The company places manufacturing, assembly and integration in Decatur, Alabama. It operates launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with government operations in Washington, D.C.
Vulcan Centaur is ULA’s newer launch vehicle. The company describes a Centaur V upper stage and configurations with zero, two, four or six solid rocket boosters. It markets the vehicle for national-security, civil and commercial missions, with multiple spacecraft sharing a launch where mission requirements permit. ULA lists liquid-natural-gas and liquid-oxygen propulsion for its main stage, and liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for the upper stage.
NASA documented Vulcan’s launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander from Cape Canaveral on January 8, 2024. The lander carried NASA science instruments and commercial payloads as part of the agency’s commercial lunar delivery programme.
The rocket’s later record includes a booster problem. Spaceflight Now reported an anomaly during the USSF-87 launch on February 12, 2026, and retained ULA’s statement that the vehicle continued on a nominal trajectory. Its report also recorded a similar problem on the October 2024 certification flight and national-security certification in March 2025. These dated events do not establish current clearance for crewed Starliner launches.
What they build and operate
- Vulcan Centaur · Launch vehicle · Operational
ULA describes a launch vehicle with a Centaur V upper stage and several solid-booster configurations.[3][4] - Launch services · Service
The company describes mission management, vehicle production, testing and launch operations for government and commercial customers.[1][2]
Milestones
- 01 December 2006
Began operations combining Boeing’s Delta and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas launch programmes.[1] - 08 January 2024
Vulcan launched Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander with NASA science payloads from Cape Canaveral.[4] - March 2025
Vulcan received national-security launch certification, as recorded in Spaceflight Now’s February 2026 report.[5] - 12 February 2026
Vulcan experienced a solid-booster anomaly on USSF-87; ULA stated that the vehicle continued on a nominal trajectory.[5]
Facilities
- Headquarters · Denver, Colorado, United States
The company lists programme management, engineering, testing and mission support here.[2] - Manufacturing and integration · Decatur, Alabama, United States
The company lists manufacturing, assembly and integration operations here.[2]
Sources
United Launch AllianceUnited Launch Alliance Begins Operationsulalaunch.com
United Launch AllianceAbout ULAulalaunch.com
United Launch AllianceVulcanulalaunch.com
NASALiftoff of ULA Vulcan Rocket! NASA Science Begins Journey to Moon on Astrobotic Robotic Landernasa.gov
Spaceflight NowVulcan suffers solid rocket booster problem during USSF-87 launchspaceflightnow.com
Coverage of United Launch Alliance
Starliner
NASA plans Starliner crewed flights and Vulcan certification
The September 28 roadmap targets astronauts by 2028, after an uncrewed test; flight options and the rocket transition remain planned.
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