By Stephanie Dwilson | 2025-09-23

The inaugural launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, that on August 12 carried US Space Force (USSF) 106 mission into geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), ushered in a new era for the United States.

The successful mission officially ended US reliance on Russian rocket engines, meaning national security payloads will now be flown exclusively on US rockets powered by US-made engines.

"The addition of Vulcan as a certified launch system ends US reliance on Russian engines as directed by Congress," USSF Space Systems Command said in an August 11 statement.

The move is part of a US strategy to invest at home, it said, and "bolsters the USSF’s space access portfolio, all while leveraging commercial innovation."

In recent decades, the United States has purchased RD-180 rocket engines and other propulsion technology from Russia. But the push to bring this relationship to an end has been gaining steam for more than 10 years.

In May 2014, the US Air Force initiated a review of whether reliance on the Russian engine posed a security risk to the United States.

More recently, concerns have mounted over Russia's war on Ukraine, and commercial space companies have been working to bring business back to the United States.

The USSF-106 mission launch, from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida, was a partnership between United Launch Alliance (ULA) and USSF's Space Systems Command.

The launch’s main payload, experimental US Air Force navigation satellite, Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), will test jam-proofing technologies, along with software that allows it to be reprogrammed in orbit.

It is the first US integrated navigation satellite experiment in almost 50 years.

Previous satellite experiments (NTS-1 and NTS-2) led to the creation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, a global network of satellites that provides continuous and accurate positioning data to military and civilian users.

'New era in space security'

The USSF-106 mission launch was the Vulcan Centaur’s third successful flight. After the first two launches, USSF certified the rocket under the National Security Space Launch program.

"Vulcan is a catalyst to supporting national defense in the strategic warfighting domain of space," ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said in a statement.

"Vulcan is the world’s most capable, high energy orbit rocket meeting the demand for expanding space competencies."

The rocket has 2.5 times the energy and 450 times the endurance of its ULA predecessors. It stands 202 feet tall and weighs 1.74 million pounds.

"Vulcan provides flexibility to our nation’s decision makers as we combat our adversaries’ attempts to disrupt the US in space operations," Bruno said.

"This launch begins a new era in national space security."

ULA has conducted previous national security missions. Since it was founded in 2006, it has launched almost all of the 132 critical missions of US Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office into orbit.

"This is an important milestone for the Space Force and all involved," USSF-106 mission director Col. Jim Horne said shortly after the launch, noting the "years of development, technical collaboration, and dedication by all involved."

US Space Force has tapped the Vulcan Centaur for more than 24 upcoming national security launches. These missions will launch from either Cape Canaveral in Florida or Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.