Summary: The addition of the Vulcan rocket as a certified launch system ends U.S. reliance on Russian engines as directed by Congress, follows the National Security Strategy to invest at home, and bolters the USSF’s space access portfolio, all while leveraging commercial innovations.
CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. – The United States Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) announces U.S. Space Force (USSF)-106 as its next mission to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The mission will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 (the first pad configured to launch two rockets) and is currently planned for August 12, during a one-hour launch window that runs from 7:59 p.m. to 8:59 p.m. EDT (4:59 p.m. to 5:59 p.m. Pacific).
Live broadcast coverage of launch available at: www.ulalaunch.com. The USSF-106 launch broadcast will begin at 7:39 p.m. EDT. Live launch updates available at: Vulcan USSF-106
Media resources: Newsroom (ulalaunch.com)
Now certified under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, a process which included two successful certification flights, this Vulcan will be the first NSSL program launch for the U.S. Space Force. The Vulcan Centaur family of vehicles, having succeeded the Atlas V and Delta IV systems, will place critical Department of Defense (DoD) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) capabilities into space for years to come.
“We certified the Vulcan Centaur Launch System in March 2025, and now we’re on the pad and ready to launch Vulcan,” said Col. Jim Horne, USSF-106 Mission Director. “That’s progress, that’s teamwork, and there are a lot more coming after this one. National Security Space Launch provides critical space capabilities to us and our allies through all of our launch service providers and we now have the launch vehicle diversity and advanced systems to take us into the future.”
The addition of Vulcan as a certified launch system ends U.S. reliance on Russian engines as directed by Congress, follows the National Security Strategy to invest at home, bolsters the USSF’s space access portfolio, all while leveraging commercial innovation.
The primary payload on USSF-106 is the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), an Air Force Vanguard program experiment provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and built by L3Harris Technologies. NTS-3 will demonstrate an agile positioning, navigation and timing payload at near-geosynchronous orbit, and is part of an effort to achieve a more robust, resilient and responsive PNT architecture. It will demonstrate this through flexible reprogrammable signals, an electronically steerable antenna, and advanced timekeeping algorithms.
NTS-3 is the first U.S. integrated navigation satellite experiment in nearly 50 years, following in the footsteps of NTS-1 and NTS-2, which paved the way for the current GPS constellation.
Assured Access to Space executes the U.S. Space Force's core function of Space Access, performing the space lift and range control missions. It secures reliable and responsive launch services to deploy the space-based capabilities needed by our Nation's warfighters, intelligence professionals, decision makers, allies, and partners. Additionally, it operates and sustains resilient and ready launch and test infrastructure to project on-orbit warfighting capability through all phases of conflict and to expand U.S. economic, technological, and scientific leadership. Further, AATS delivers servicing, mobility, and logistics capabilities that operate in, from, and to the space domain.
Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient capabilities to outpace emerging threats and protect our Nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space. SSC manages a $15.6 billion annual space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense, working with joint forces, industry partners, government agencies, academia, and allied nations. For more information, visit ssc.spaceforce.mil and follow @USSF-SSC on LinkedIn.
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