BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket lifted off early Thursday from the Florida coast on a mission for the U.S. Space Force.
The USSF-87 mission took off at 4:22 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, delivering a national security spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit.
Sparks were seen coming from the rocket after it lifted off, and ULA confirmed that the solid rocket booster saw an anomaly but added the mission was not impacted.
“Early during flight, the team observed a significant performance anomaly on one of the four solid rocket motors. Despite the observation, the Vulcan booster and Centaur performed nominally and delivered the spacecraft directly to geosynchronous orbit,’ said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Atlas and Vulcan Programs.
ULA said the U.S. government and contractor team is reviewing the technical data and available imagery and will establish a recovery team to collect any debris.
“We will conduct a thorough investigation, identify root cause, and implement any corrective action necessary before the next Vulcan mission,” ULA said in a statement.
The launch involved Vulcan’s heaviest payload yet.