Action finally returned to the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) as the Vulcan-Centaur rocket rolled out to the pad on May 11 for further testing ahead of its debut flight. Meanwhile, ULA offloaded its final Delta IV Heavy rocket from their Rocketship vessel. These events come as ULA enters the home stretch in its preparations for the inaugural launch of its Vulcan-Centaur launch vehicle. Vulcan is designed to replace both Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy, which are currently being phased out. ULA began the morning on May 11 with the rollout of the upcoming Vulcan rocket from the vertical integration facility (VIF), which is located inside the perimeter of SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Ahead of ULA launches from SLC-41, Atlas V and Vulcan rockets are stacked vertically inside the VIF atop mobile launch platforms. By midday, Vulcan arrived at the launch pad, which has been modified to launch both Atlas V and Vulcan. Once at the pad, the mobile launch platform was integrated with the existing pad infrastructure. In addition to ULA using SLC-41 for Vulcan in Florida, the company is in the process of converting their west coast Atlas V pad,…
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Vulcan conducting launch day dress rehearsal as the final Delta IV Heavy arrives at Cape Canaveral
