Space

Vulcan rocket fails during launch, dealing major blow to SpaceX competitors

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 15/11/2026, 23:23:24 UTC.

Briefings

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites failed during launch Sunday, November 15, 2026, after liftoff. The mission was the first of 38 Vulcan launches booked by Amazon for broadband satellite deployment, and the failure is expected to ground the rocket indefinitely. The Vulcan rocket is on contract to launch roughly half of the US military's national security space missions in the next few years, and Sunday's mission was the first of 38 Vulcan launches booked by Amazon to build out its network of broadband Internet satellites aimed at competing with SpaceX's Starlink. The incidents triggered months-long reviews and investigations before ULA could resume Vulcan flights. The rocket has overcome failures with its strap-on solid rocket boosters on two of its four previous flights, correcting for those problems and continuing into orbit to deploy its payloads.

Key points

• Vulcan rocket and 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites fell back to Earth minutes after liftoff on Sunday, November 15, 2026.
• The Vulcan rocket is on contract to launch roughly half of the US military's national security space missions in the next few years.

Context

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and 40 Amazon Leo broadband satellites fell back to Earth minutes after liftoff Sunday, a crushing setback that will ripple across all sectors of the US space industry. The Vulcan rocket is on contract to launch roughly half of the US military's national security space missions in the next few years, and Sunday's mission was the first of 38 Vulcan launches booked by Amazon to build out its network of broadband Internet satellites aimed at competing with SpaceX's Starlink.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to a single launch failure; no data on ground time, specific mission outcomes, or long-term impact metrics are provided. The indefinite ground period is a forecast, not a confirmed duration. No additional background on ULA's history or SpaceX's Starlink network is supplied.

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