United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur Delivers National Security Payloads Despite Booster Anomaly

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket successfully completed the USSF-87 national security mission on Thursday, February 12, 2026, placing its classified payloads into geosynchronous orbit (GEO), over 22,000 miles above Earth. Liftoff occurred at 4:22 a.m. Eastern Time from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission represented the fourth flight for the Vulcan Centaur vehicle and its second deployment under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, demonstrating the operational progression of the heavy-lift system.

The launch vehicle employed the Vulcan VC4S configuration, utilizing four Northrop Grumman GEM-63XL strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRBs) for initial ascent thrust. These SRBs burned for approximately 90 seconds before separation, after which the vehicle’s two Blue Origin BE-4 engines propelled the core stage. The mission required a nearly 10-hour burn by the Centaur V upper stage to achieve the high-energy GEO destination, setting a new duration record for the Vulcan rocket.

The primary objective involved deploying two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites, GSSAP-7 and GSSAP-8, constructed by Northrop Grumman. GSSAP satellites provide a spaceborne capability for the Space Surveillance Network, functioning to track objects and hazards near GEO to enhance space flight safety and collision avoidance. Additionally, the mission delivered a propulsive ESPA ring carrying various research, development, and training payloads for the Space Force.

Despite the overall mission success, observers noted an irregular plume from one of the SRBs during ascent, similar to an anomaly on a previous Vulcan flight. ULA Vice President for Atlas and Vulcan Programs, Gary Wentz, later described the event as a “significant performance anomaly” on one of the solid rocket motors. Nevertheless, ULA confirmed that the Vulcan booster and Centaur upper stage performed nominally, achieving the required orbital delivery. John Elbon, serving as the interim leader of ULA following Tory Bruno’s departure in December 2025, oversees the company as it targets between 18 and 22 total flights in 2026, an increase from six flights in 2025.

The successful deployment to GEO confirms the Vulcan Centaur’s capacity to execute complex, long-duration national security missions, fulfilling its role as a replacement for the retiring Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets. The GSSAP constellation, which has seen previous launches in 2014, 2016, and 2022, offers an unobstructed vantage point for tracking resident space objects. This flight is part of the NSSL program, under which ULA was assigned 26 Phase 2 missions through Fiscal Year 2027, maintaining the U.S. advantage in space domain awareness within an increasingly utilized orbital environment.