On October 4, 2024, United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched its second Vulcan Centaur rocket, marking a key step toward certifying the rocket for national security missions. However, at 37 seconds after liftoff, one of the rocket’s solid-propellant strap-on boosters suffered an anomaly, ejecting sparks and debris. Despite the issue, the rocket maintained its trajectory, and the mission proceeded as planned. ULA has announced an investigation into the anomaly to assess its impact on the certification process. The Mission Objectives and Its SignificanceThis launch, called CERT-2, is t…