ORLANDO, Fla. — In a move to differentiate itself from rival SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is proposing a new military application for its Vulcan Centaur rocket: a “space interceptor” capable of thwarting potential threats to U.S. assets in orbit.
ULA CEO Tory Bruno discussed this vision at the Spacepower Conference, positioning the Vulcan Centaur not just as a launch vehicle but as a potential orbital deterrent against adversaries targeting Space Force assets.
“Our vision is the ability to have a platform that is lightning fast, long range, and, if necessary, very lethal,” Bruno said Dec. 12. “What I’ve been working on is essentially a rocket that operates in space.”
Bruno has long advocated expanded capabilities for the Centaur upper stage. In 2020, he outlined plans for an enhanced Centaur V featuring increased energy, thrust, and duration capabilities to enable complex trajectories and ambitious future missions. More recently, he has promoted a “high-performance, long-duration” version that could operate for days or weeks in support of U.S. military operations.
The proposal comes as ULA seeks to regain ground lost to SpaceX in the military launch market. Once the dominant provider for U.S. military launches, ULA has seen its market share erode since SpaceX entered the field in 2015 with its cost-effective Falcon 9 rocket.
The Vulcan Centaur, currently awaiting certification for national security space missions, features a first stage powered by two Blue Origin BE-4 engines and a second stage, Centaur V, using an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine. Bruno suggests that with upgrades, the Centaur V could serve as a long-endurance vehicle for counterspace missions and a “space interceptor.” While conventional satellites move “slow and deliberate in their motion,” said Bruno, the enhanced Centaur could rapidly respond to developing threats.
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