United Launch Alliance (ULA) is scheduled to launch its Vulcan Centaur rocket for the U.S. Space Force's (USSF) USSF-106 mission on August 12, 2025. This launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida marks a significant milestone as the Vulcan Centaur's first national security space launch. The mission's primary payload is the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), an experimental satellite designed to pioneer advanced technologies for countering threats to navigation systems. NTS-3 is the first Department of Defense experimental navigation satellite in nearly 50 years, aiming to enhance position, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities with features like a reprogrammable signal generator and an electronically steered phased array antenna for increased resilience against interference and spoofing.
The Vulcan Centaur rocket, ULA's next-generation launch vehicle, has completed two prior flights and was officially certified by the U.S. Space Force for national security launches in March 2025. This certification followed a rigorous evaluation process, confirming the rocket's capability to meet stringent requirements for launching vital national security assets. The USSF-106 mission will utilize the Vulcan Centaur VC4S configuration, featuring four solid rocket boosters that provide approximately three million pounds of liftoff thrust. The Vulcan Centaur is designed to replace ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets, consolidating launch capabilities for national security missions under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. ULA and SpaceX are currently the only certified providers for NSSL missions, with contracts extending through 2032.