United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a premier launch services provider formed as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, delivering reliable access to space for U.S. national security, civil government, and commercial customers. The company successfully launched its next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket for the first time on January 8, 2024.

Vulcan Centaur is designed to replace ULA's legacy Atlas V and Delta IV rockets while providing competitive pricing for commercial missions. Powered by Blue Origin BE-4 engines, Vulcan addresses Congressional mandates to phase out Russian-made RD-180 engines used on Atlas V. The second Vulcan launch in October 2024 achieved an acceptable orbital insertion for Space Force certification, despite a solid rocket booster anomaly. Space Force certified Vulcan for National Security Space Launch missions in March 2025.

ULA began Vulcan development in 2014 to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 while meeting national security requirements. The company has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches including 38 missions for Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation and multiple NSSL missions as part of Phase 2 launch procurement. Production of Atlas V ended in 2024, with the Delta rocket family fully retired.

The company maintains the highest mission success rate in the industry, having delivered hundreds of successful launches for critical military, intelligence, and NASA missions. ULA provides assured access to space for the nation's most important payloads, combining Lockheed Martin and Boeing heritage with next-generation Vulcan capabilities to meet evolving national security and commercial space requirements.