Vulcan Experiences Anomaly During Test, Maiden Flight Delayed

ULA has experienced an anomaly during testing of a Vulcan Centaur 2nd stage, and an investigation is underway.

The anomaly occurred during extreme pressure load testing of a Vulcan Centaur 2nd stage at the Marshal Space Flight Center.

Tory Bruno, the CEO of ULA once again gave incredible transparency into the work at ULA and shared a late night update via twitter.

The article was being put through the worst possible conditions it could experience, conditions a Vulcan rocket would not be experienced under a nominal flight trajectory.

In a response to question about if any implications could affect the Centaur V that is already at the pad being prepared for the maiden flight.

In a now deleted tweet Tory shared the article was damaged not destroyed during the test.

A new image of the Marshall Spaceflight center was released today, showing an explosion and release of propellants from the Centaur V upper stage. Tory Bruno responded to the image, noting that the test article was filled with liquid hydrogen during the anomalous test. The cause and fallout of this test are still unknown.

Tory Bruno followed this comment up with pointing out the visible debris from the explosion is from the mounting rig and insulation hardware that was used in the qualification tests for the Centaur V test article. The tank remained largely undamaged, with only a section of the tank wall landing "a few feet away". The test tank and testing rig remain largely in tact, and will help greatly in the investigation.

The maiden flight of Vulcan Centaur will be delayed till the investigation is complete.