By Passant Rabie Published December 28, 2024 | Comments (0) | ULA's 200 foot-tall rocket made its debut in January 2024. Photo: ULA The 200-foot Vulcan Centaur rocket could do more than just launch satellites to orbit. As the rocket awaits certification to launch military payloads, United Launch Alliance (ULA) suggests that Vulcan can also be used to ward off space enemies and protect U.S. assets in orbit. During the Spacepower Conference held earlier this month, ULA CEO Tory Bruno revealed that he had alternative plans for the heavy-lift launch vehicle, SpaceNews reported. Brunos suggestion includes utilizing the rockets upper stage as a space interceptor to thwart attacks against the U.S. Space Forces assets in space. Our vision is the ability to have a platform that is lightning fast, long range, and, if necessary, very lethal, he said during the conference. What Ive been working on is essentially a rocket that operates in space. Well, thats certainly an idea. The 202-foot-tall (61.6-meter) Vulcan Centaur is an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle that was first conceived in 2006. The rocket borrows design elements from both ULAs Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, and finally made its debut on January 8, launching Astrobotics Peregrine lander toward the Moon. The rockets inaugural flight was originally scheduled to take place in 2019, but Vulcan faced several challenges and hiccups that delayed its big day. Vulcan Centaur is crucial to the commercial space industry as well as U.S. national security. With its Vulcan rocket, ULA is hoping to compete with industry favorite SpaceX. The U.S. military has grown more dependent on SpaceX to launch its payload to orbit, a market share that used to be dominated by ULA.However, Vulcan is not yet ready to launch military payloads. The rocket carried out its second certification flight in October, but ULAs marquee flight vehicle hit a snag. Following a nominal liftoff, the rocket experienced an issue about 35 seconds after launch, when a plume of material suddenly appeared to be coming off one of its two boosters. The main purpose of the Cert-2 mission was for the U.S. Space Force to certify Vulcan for national security missions, with the rocket slated to carry two U.S. military payloads to orbit this year. The not-so-ideal flight has delayed the rockets certification process.Brunos recent suggestion to turn the rocket into a space superhero may be an act of desperation as ULA continues to fall behind its main competitor, SpaceX. During the conference, the ULA CEO suggested that Vulcans upper stage could be upgraded to serve as a long-endurance vehicle that operates in space and respond rapidly to incoming threats. We know that the Chinese are going to come after us in space, Bruno said, according to SpaceNews. If we watch an attack developing where a Chinese asset is spending a few days or a week approaching something we care about, we have something we can move there in a few hours and interrupt that attack before it starts.Mentioning Chinas increasing capabilities in space is one way to get folks behind your plan. Still, Brunos remarks reflect a larger concern shared by both national and commercial spaceflight players: that space is headed toward a militarized future where orbital warfare may be inevitable.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Isaac Schultz Published November 26, 2024 By Passant Rabie Published November 14, 2024 By Passant Rabie Published November 12, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published November 6, 2024 By Passant Rabie Published November 5, 2024 By Passant Rabie Published October 10, 2024