Space Force shifts six Vulcan national-security launches to SpaceX
From the Space digest for Oct 30, 2026
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What happened: The U.S. Space Force has shifted six near-term national-security launches from United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur to SpaceX, with the reallocation reported as coming during a grounding of defense launches (MSN). The available material — MSN-syndicated coverage whose original outlet is not identified — does not name the missions, their timelines, or the cause of the grounding.
What's genuinely new: Six national-security launches leaving Vulcan for SpaceX is the largest single manifest shift reported on the Vulcan lane. It lands while Vulcan still awaits its return to flight: ULA set the Leo 1 launch for November 13, 2026, pending range approval, and the Space Force has said it will judge Vulcan by that flight's data before clearing military launches (as reported October 29) — though the available material does not state whether the grounding derives from that pending flight.
Watch: whether the November 13 Leo 1 flight holds its date, and whether the six missions return to Vulcan's manifest or stay with SpaceX.
Sources MSN