US Space Force moves GPS launch to SpaceX Falcon 9 due to Vulcan rocket glitch

The U.S. Space Force has swapped rockets for an upcoming GPS satellite launch.

Next month’s GPS III-8 mission had been slated to fly atop United Launch Alliance (ULA)’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket. But Vulcan has experienced issues with its solid rocket boosters (SRBs), so the Space Force is moving the GPS spacecraft onto a SpaceX Falcon 9.

“With this change, we are answering the call for rapid delivery of advanced GPS capability while the Vulcan anomaly investigation continues,” Space Force Col. Ryan Hiserote, Space Systems Command System Delta 80 commander and National Security Space Launch system program director, said in a statement today (March 20).

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“We are once again demonstrating our team’s flexibility and are fully committed to leverage all options available for responsive and reliable launch for the nation,” Hiserote added.

Vulcan Centaur, the successor to ULA’s workhorse Atlas V rocket, debuted in January 2024 and has flown three more times since. An SRB anomaly cropped up on two of those four flights — Vulcan’s national security payload certification launch in October 2024 and the USSF-87 mission for the Space Force last month.

Vulcan overcame the problem both times, successfully reaching orbit and notching its mission goals. But the Space Force was concerned enough that, in late February, it announced it would pause Vulcan national security flights until an investigation into the glitches was complete.

So today’s news about the GPS III-8 mission is not terribly surprising. If all goes to plan, the satellite — the 10th and final one in the GPS III line — will lift off no earlier than late April from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Vulcan Centaur, in return, will launch USSF-70, a national security mission that had been manifested on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. USSF-70 will fly no earlier than summer 2028, according to Space Force officials.

ULA is doubtless working hard to finish the anomaly investigation and be allowed to resume national security launches. After all, the Space Force is one of Vulcan’s biggest customers, having booked more than two dozen launches on the rocket over the next several years.