Washington, D.C. – United Launch Alliance has made the decision to carry an inert payload and instrumentation on its upcoming Vulcan Centaur mission, Cert-2, as Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser will not be ready for launch this fall. CEO Tory Bruno announced the new schedule, with Cert-2 now set for September, during a media briefing on June 26. The inert payload was originally intended as a backup for the first Vulcan launch, in case of delays with Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander.
Sierra Space informed ULA that they did not believe they could meet the mid-year flight date previously planned for Cert-2. As a result, ULA will move forward with launching the inert payload, instead of Dream Chaser, in order to support critical national security space missions that are scheduled to follow. Launching Cert-2 is crucial for ULA, as it is the second of two launches needed for the Space Force to certify the rocket for launching national security payloads.
The plan for Cert-2 includes carrying the inert payload into low Earth orbit in September. This payload will undergo experiments and demonstrations to test technologies that may be incorporated into the Centaur, although specific details were not disclosed by Bruno. Following the basic mission, the Centaur will conduct maneuvers to further understand its capabilities and measure important attributes, such as the boiloff of its cryogenic propellants, before moving to a final disposal orbit that complies with U.S. government standards.
Pentagon officials had previously indicated that ULA could launch an inert payload if Dream Chaser was not ready by the end of the year. Bruno confirmed that there were no other commercial payloads available to replace Dream Chaser for the September launch. Despite the delay caused by the change in plans, ULA is optimistic that certification for the Space Force missions can be completed in time to launch two more times before the end of the year, with hardware for Cert-2 and the following missions already in place or nearly completed.