United Launch Alliance (ULA) has proposed a new military application for its Vulcan Centaur rocket . It says the rocket can be used as a "space interceptor" able to thwart threats to US assets in orbit. The Vulcan Centaur rocket is a heavy launch vehicle that competes with SpaceX's Falcon 9. While it is still expensive (around $110 million per launch), it is around half the price of the Atlas V predecessor and its expensive Blue Origin BE-4 engines are designed to be reusable. To compete with SpaceX , ULA has been searching for more applications where the upper stage could be reused for multiple missions while in space , including they "might tug satellites or counter Chinese threats."
ULA says Vulcan Centaur could be come a space interceptor
ULA CEO Tory Bruno spoke about the vision of using the company's new Vulcan Centaur to guard US assets in space at the Spacepower Conference. He said, "Our vision is the ability to have a platform that is lightning fast, long range, and, if necessary, very lethal. What I've been working on is essentially a rocket that operates in space."
Photo: ULC
Bruno has long taunted adapting the Centaur upper stage to complete more missions in space. According to Space News, "In 2020, he outlined plans for an enhanced Centaur V featuring increased energy, thrust, and duration capabilities to enable complex trajectories and ambitious future missions. More recently, he has promoted a 'high-performance, long-duration" version that could operate for days or weeks in support of U.S. military operations.'"
The idea is that, after intended upgrades, the Centaur V (powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine) would be able to serve as a long-endurance vehicle for counter-space missions. The Centaur could respond rapidly to developing threats (in contrast to existing satellites that are "slow and deliberate in their motion"). The Vulcan Centaur is awaiting certification for national security space missions.
"I mean a squadron of lightning fast, long range, lethal interceptors. To use a naval analogy, we need destroyers in orbit, the Greyhounds of Space." - ULA CEO, Tory Bruno
Photo: ULA
In a piece published on Medium, Bruno explains that Satellite Killers are also satellites. These are lifted into orbit by a launch vehicle much like other spacecraft. These satellite-hunting-satellites are constrained by the restraints of being launched into space and move "precisely, slowely, and not very far." They have a limited supply of low-energy propellant and small thrusters and take days or weeks to approach a target. He suggests that the Vulcan Centaur would be able to move in a few hours and intercept the threat.
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Posts 4 A growing space race
A new space race is dawning between the United States and China (and while Russia may not be able to compete in space like it used to, it can still develop threats to other nation's space-based assets).
Photo: US Space Force
Space is increasingly seen as a domain of future military competition. In 2019, the United States split the Space Force off from the United States Air Force as an independent service branch and the new pick to lead NASA has stated that it is inevitable guardians will eventually be stationed in space . The Air Force is even interested in SpaceX's new Starship as a potential transport vehicle that can transport personnel or 100 to 150 tons of cargo anywhere in the world within an hour. The US and China are now in a race to return people to the moon and, this time, to set up a permanent human colony there.
Photo: SpaceX
These days it may seem that SpaceX is the only player out there lifting payloads into low earth orbit, but there are still plenty of others. ULA was once the dominant player in the space launch sector - a title SpaceX has very much claimed for itself. ULA is currently seeking to adapt and find ways to compete with SpaceX to reclaim some of its lost market share.