United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan rocket successfully launched USSF-106, its first mission carrying national security payloads for the US Space Force. The launch, from Cape Canaveral, marked a transition from development to operational status for the new rocket. The Vulcan, powered by Blue Origin's BE-4 engines and Northrop Grumman boosters, deployed multiple satellites, including an experimental GPS platform, into geosynchronous orbit. This successful launch fulfills a significant backlog of over 70 contracted Vulcan launches, primarily for the Space Force and Amazon's Kuiper project.

Prepared by Jonathan Pierce and reviewed by editorial team.