spacetoday.net: Manufacturing defect blamed for lost nozzle on second Vulcan launch

Posted: Sun, Mar 16, 2025, 3:21 PM ET (1921 GMT)
Vulcan Centaur Cert-2 launch (ULA)

United Launch Alliance has found and corrected a manufacturing defect that caused a solid rocket motor nozzle to fall off on a Vulcan launch last year. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said Wednesday that an investigation into the incident on the Cert-2 launch last October identified the defect in one of the internal parts of the nozzle, and that they had made corrective actions verified in a static-fire test of the motor last month. Bruno said the company is still awaiting certification of Vulcan by the Space Force for national security missions but has provided the service with all the information it requested to complete that work. ULA is planning a dozen launches this year, split roughly evenly between Atlas and Vulcan and between national security and commercial missions.