Vulcan Rocket Suffers Repeat Booster Failure During Successful USSF-87 Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. — United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully delivered classified payloads to geosynchronous orbit for the U.S. Space Force on Feb. 12, 2026, marking the completion of the USSF-87 mission. However, the flight was marred by a significant anomaly involving one of the vehicle’s solid rocket motors—a near-identical failure to one suffered by the Vulcan rocket during its certification flight in late 2024.

The recurrence of the nozzle failure on the Northrop Grumman-produced GEM 63XL booster raises immediate questions regarding the vehicle's reliability and the manufacturer's quality control processes. While the Vulcan Centaur’s design allowed it to compensate for the loss of thrust and asymmetric forces, the incident threatens to derail ULA’s aggressive 2026 launch manifest, which includes critical missions for Amazon Leo and further national security payloads.

"Significant Performance Anomaly"

The Vulcan Centaur rocket, flying in its VC4S configuration with four solid rocket boosters (SRBs), lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at 4:22 a.m. EST. Tracking imagery and telemetry confirmed that approximately 30 seconds into the flight, one of the GEM 63XL boosters suffered a nozzle burn-through. The failure resulted in a visible plume of sparks and exhaust escaping from the side of the booster, rather than through the nozzle throat.

ULA Vice President of Atlas and Vulcan Programs, Gary Wentz, confirmed the incident in a post-launch statement. “We had an observation early during flight on one of the four solid rocket motors,” Wentz said. He characterized the event as a “significant performance anomaly.”

Despite the structural failure of the booster’s nozzle, the Vulcan’s flight computer registered the asymmetry and compensated by gimbaling the two main BE-4 engines. The rocket successfully jettisoned the boosters at the T+ 1 minute, 37 seconds mark and continued to orbit. ULA confirmed that the Centaur V upper stage delivered the USSF-87 payloads—including Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites—directly to their intended geosynchronous orbit.

A Repeat of Cert-2

Industry observers immediately noted the similarity between the Feb. 12 event and the anomaly during the Cert-2 mission on Oct. 4, 2024. During that flight, a nozzle on a GEM 63XL booster eroded and eventually separated, causing a reduction in total impulse. Following a six-month investigation into the Cert-2 anomaly, ULA and Northrop Grumman implemented corrective actions that were ostensibly verified before the resumption of flights.

The recurrence of the issue on USSF-87 suggests that the root cause—previously identified as a manufacturing defect in the nozzle assembly—may not have been fully resolved, or that a new, related failure mode has emerged.

“We’ve had a couple of anomalies that we’ve worked through,” said John Elbon, ULA’s interim CEO, referencing the Cert-2 flight. “Those are behind us now.” Elbon’s comments, made prior to the Feb. 12 launch, now stand in stark contrast to the reality of a second hardware failure in just four flights.

Certification and Schedule Implications

The primary concern for the Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial customers is not the survivability of the rocket, but the reliability of its supply chain. The U.S. Space Force certified Vulcan for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions in March 2025, a decision heavily predicated on the resolution of the Cert-2 booster issues.

While the mission was technically a success, the Space Force requires assured access to space. A "repeat" failure mode typically triggers a grounded status and a Mishap Investigation Board (MIB). If the investigation points to a systemic flaw in Northrop Grumman's production line for the GEM 63XL, ULA could face months of delays.

This comes at a precarious time for ULA. The company planned an ambitious cadence of 16 to 18 launches for 2026 to clear a backlog of Amazon Leo broadband satellites and NSSL missions. Any grounding would compound delays for Amazon, which is racing to deploy its constellation to meet FCC license deadlines.

The Space Force has not yet announced if a stand-down will be ordered, but officials confirmed that a joint government-contractor team is already reviewing the data.

For now, the USSF-87 payloads are on orbit and functioning, but the Vulcan rocket faces a renewed battle to prove its readiness for the high-tempo operations demanded by its customers.