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Vulcan Centaur

Vulcan Centaur is the modular expendable launch-vehicle family developed and operated by United Launch Alliance. A methane-fueled core with two BE-4 engines is paired with the Centaur V upper stage and zero to six GEM 63XL solid boosters; configurations serve low Earth orbit, geostationary, lunar, escape, and national-security missions.

Vulcan Centaur
NASA/Ben Smegelsky · Stored/public JPEG is byte-identical to the Wikimedia Commons crop of NASA's exact KSC-20240105-PH-JBS01_0024 original (1383x2230, SHA-256 3649a91a84383edd70e89b7294f2b5436b5f86f3c1bf2a8832a60c8b5b25d1a3). The Commons file page identifies the NASA Kennedy Flickr original https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/53444731128/in/photostream/, NASA/Ben Smegelsky, and a public-domain U.S. federal-work basis; NASA Images API independently identifies KSC-20240105-PH-JBS01_0024 as the Vulcan/Peregrine rollout photograph. NASA current Images and Media Usage Guidelines permit factual or informational use of NASA content with NASA acknowledged where no third-party rights are indicated, while NASA logos and identifiers remain protected and use must not imply endorsement: https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/. This is an asset-level, conservative factual/editorial reuse basis with NASA/Ben Smegelsky attribution, not a blanket license for ULA or Astrobotic branding, promotional use, merchandise, or endorsement. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
Vulcan CentaurULA VulcanVulcan launch system
Family Name
Vulcan
Full Name
Vulcan Centaur
Status
active
Type
rocket

Details

Description
Vulcan Centaur is the modular expendable launch-vehicle family developed and operated by United Launch Alliance. A methane-fueled core with two BE-4 engines is paired with the Centaur V upper stage and zero to six GEM 63XL solid boosters; configurations serve low Earth orbit, geostationary, lunar, escape, and national-security missions.
Dimensions
Diameter M
5.4
Height M
61.6
First Flight Year
2,024
Manufacturer
Operator
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
    Name
    Vulcan Centaur zero-GEM configuration
    Notes
    ULA documents Vulcan's standard zero-solid configuration: two BE-4 core engines and two RL10C upper-stage engines, with no GEM 63XL solid boosters.
  • Entries
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      booster
      Propulsion System
      Role
      booster
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
    Name
    Vulcan Centaur two-GEM 63XL configuration
    Notes
    ULA documents a standard two-solid Vulcan offering: two BE-4 core engines, two GEM 63XL solid boosters, and two RL10C upper-stage engines.
  • Entries
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      4
      Placement
      booster
      Propulsion System
      Role
      booster
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
    Name
    Vulcan Centaur four-GEM 63XL configuration
    Notes
    ULA documents a standard four-solid Vulcan offering: two BE-4 core engines, four GEM 63XL solid boosters, and two RL10C upper-stage engines.
  • Entries
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
    • Count
      6
      Placement
      booster
      Propulsion System
      Role
      booster
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
    Name
    Vulcan Centaur six-GEM 63XL configuration
    Notes
    ULA describes Vulcan Centaur as supporting zero to six GEM 63XL solid boosters; this exact six-booster option preserves the existing baseline configuration.
Rocket Specs
Reusability
expendable
Stages Count
2

Links

Official Url
https://www.ulalaunch.com/rockets/vulcan-centaur
Wikipedia Url
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_Centaur

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
April 26, 2026 at 15:30:27 UTC
Updated Time
August 20, 2026 at 08:26:09 UTC
Image
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