ULA wants to make its rocket “lethal” to defend US assets in space

The 200-foot Vulcan Centaur rocket could do more than just launch satellites into orbit. While 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 US assets in orbit.

During the Spacepower Conference held earlier this month, ULA CEO Tory Bruno revealed that he had alternative plans for the heavy launch vehicle, SpaceNews reported. Bruno’s suggestion includes using the rocket’s upper stage as a “space interceptor” to thwart attacks against US Space Force 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 I’m working on is essentially a rocket operating in space.”

Well, that’s certainly an idea. The 202-foot-tall (61.6-meter) Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle that was first conceived in 2006. The rocket borrows design elements from ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets , and finally made its debut in January. 8, launch Astrobotic’s Pilgrim Lander to the Moon. The inaugural flight of the missile was originally planned in 2019, but Vulcan faced many challenges and hiccups that delayed its big day.

Vulcan Centaur is crucial to the commercial space industry as well as to US national security. With its Vulcan rocket, ULA hopes to compete with industry favorite SpaceX. The US military has grown more dependent on SpaceX to launch its cargo into orbit, a market share that was dominated by ULA.

However, Vulcan is not yet ready to launch military payloads. The rifle performed its second certification flight in October, but the ULA flight vehicle crashed. After a nominal liftoff, the missile experienced a problem about 35 seconds after launch, when a plume of material suddenly appeared to come out of one of its two boosters.

The main purpose of the Cert-2 mission was for the US Space Force to certify Vulcan for national security missions, with the rocket slated to carry two US military payloads into orbit this year. The not-so-ideal flight delayed the rocket’s certification process.

Bruno’s latest 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 Vulcan’s upper stage could be upgraded to serve as a long-duration vehicle that operates in space and responds quickly to incoming threats.

“We know the Chinese are going to come after us in space,” Bruno said, according to SpaceNews. “If we’re looking at an attack that’s unfolding where a Chinese asset spends a few days or a week approaching something we care about, we have something that we can move there in a few hours and stop that attack before it starts.”

Mentioning China’s growing capabilities in space is one way to get people behind your plan. However, Bruno’s remarks reflect a larger concern shared by national and commercial spaceflight players: that space is heading toward a militarized future where orbital warfare may be inevitable.