Vulcan Centaur swapped out again: NASA goes with SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch of space weather mission
NASA has reassigned its SunRISE space weather mission from the ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket to the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. The decision follows recurring booster anomalies during recent Vulcan launches, prompting the U.S. Space Force to pause national security missions on the platform.
Why it matters
This shift highlights growing reliability concerns for ULA's new Vulcan rocket and underscores SpaceX's increasing dominance in the commercial and government launch market.
Missions Vulcan Centaur swapped out again: NASA goes with SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch of space weather mission News By Josh Dinner Published 23 July 2026 Vulcan is losing more launches to ULA's competitors.
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Click for next article NASA's SunRISE mission, which consists of six small satellites, will now fly on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket rather than a ULA Vulcan Centaur. (Image credit: Space Dynamics Laboratory/Allison Bills) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter NASA is shaking things up for its next mission to research the sun.
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