After a booster explosion and a big scare, the Vulcan rocket finally reaches the right orbit!

From the first seconds of its ascent, we could see flames coming unusually close to the entrance to the nozzle of one of the two GEM-63XL boosters located on the sides of the Vulcan rocket. Nothing alarming then, but quickly, an explosion shook the launcher, ejecting part of the nozzle of this powder booster, the combustion of which was only partially effective.

Vulcan, lame, thus generated a biased trail. But the flight control computer immediately compensated by directing the central engines. The explosion did not cause structural damage, and despite the risks, teams determined that Vulcan remained within its nominal trajectory cone.

After ejection of the two boosters, the rest of the flight went normally, even if it was necessary to compensate for the loss of thrust. The Centaur V upper stage thus remained lit a few seconds longer than expected. Everything was managed by the launcher himself, who compensated with the tools at his disposal. And finally, after 40 minutes and two engine ignitions, Vulcan successfully completed its flight: the orbit reached was finally the one initially planned. The boss of ULA, Tory Bruno, took the opportunity to congratulate his teams for this “bullseye” (shot right in the center of the target).