The Vulcan Leo 1 mission lifted off on Nov. 15 carrying 40 Amazon broadband spacecraft before suffering an unexplained anomaly that prevented the vehicle from reaching low Earth orbit. The launch marked the first time Amazon utilized the booster for its network, which previously relied on Atlas V, Falcon 9, and Ariane 6 rockets for 15 prior missions. The incident occurred on the rocket's fifth overall flight despite manufacturer design adjustments that successfully rectified earlier solid rocket booster burn-through issues.
Key points
The failure destroyed 40 broadband satellites during Amazon's debut deployment attempt ut…: The failure destroyed 40 broadband satellites during Amazon's debut deployment attempt utilizing the Vulcan Centaur vehicle.
The rocket experienced an unrelated, mission-ending failure despite recently resolving so…: The rocket experienced an unrelated, mission-ending failure despite recently resolving solid rocket booster nozzle burn-through defects from earlier flights.
The incident complicates the booster's operational standing after emerging from a nine-mo…: The incident complicates the booster's operational standing after emerging from a nine-month suspension imposed by the U.S. Space Force.
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Vulcan Centaur rocket fails during return-to-flight launch, 40 Amazon satellites lost (video)
United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket suffered an anomaly during its launch today (Nov. 15), resulting in the loss of 40 Amazon internet satellites.
The Vulcan Centaur lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 12:40 p.m. ET (1740 GMT), hauling 40 satellites for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation toward low Earth orbit (LEO). But they never got there.
"Based on data received by our Launch Director, we confirm that the Vulcan vehicle launched from Space Launch Complex 41 suffered an anomaly 10 minutes into the flight and failed to deliver the Amazon mission to orbit," ULA said in an update on X today, 50 minutes after launch. "Since the anomaly just occurred, we don’t have any specific data yet to understand what occurred today."
Today's launch was supposed to be a bounce-back mission for the Vulcan Centaur, the successor to ULA's workhorse Atlas V rocket.
Vulcan debuted in January 2024 and had four total flights under its belt before today. On two of those…
The destruction of the onboard commercial payload strikes an unexpected blow to deployment schedules while tarnishing United Launch Alliance's previously unblemished operational record. Investigators have not yet disclosed what triggered the mid-flight malfunction during the critical ascent phase. The incident places immediate scrutiny on the aerospace joint venture formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin as it evaluates the reliability of its launch vehicle.
A launch vehicle created by the joint venture between aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin suffered a catastrophic mid-flight failure. The incident led to the total loss of the onboard commercial payload belonging to Amazon. Officials have not yet determined what triggered the anomaly in the air or the precise extent of the hardware lost.
The in-flight anomaly marks the first mission failure in United Launch Alliance's 20-year history, disrupting the kickoff of a major commercial contract. The loss delivers an immediate setback to Amazon's space ambitions as the company attempts to deploy its satellite constellation to rival SpaceX's established Starlink network.