Elon Musk Escapes the Possibility of Consuming His Hat Accompanied by Mustard

As the Vulcan rocket prepares for its first of two certification missions, Elon Musk is exonerated for a joke bet. Musk promised to “eat his hat with a side of mustard” if ULA’s Vulcan rocket launched a national security mission before 2023. Musk made this prediction in 2018, and ULA’s certification missions have made him feel better.

ULA’s Vulcan Rocket: Overcoming Delays and Meeting Certification Goals in 2024

After ULA was founded in 2006 by merging Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s launch teams, discussions about a new rocket began. Vulcan was announced in 2014 after political scrutiny over Atlas V’s use of the Russian RD-180 engine.

Vulcan was supposed to debut in 2019, however technical concerns with Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine and pandemic delays delayed it. Vulcan, revised in 2023, will launch on January 8, 2024.

Elon Musk’s five-year-old prognosis may have been a reliable approximation of ULA’s rocket development timeframe. Musk avoids playfully eating his helmet as ULA prepares for Vulcan certification.

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Vulcan’s Second Mission: Dream Chaser Spaceplane Set to Fly After ULA’s Certification Success

The second mission will fly the first Dream Chaser spaceplane after Peregrine Mission One, Vulcan’s certification mission, succeeds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and technological challenges, Vulcan’s development and clients’ missions were delayed.

ULA will receive Space Force authority to carry national security payloads on Vulcan after these certification missions. GPS III SV07 may launch in June 2024 as the inaugural payload.

If ULA had problems in early 2023, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck might have eaten a hat again. Amazon might have moved its two prototype Kuiper satellites to Vulcan’s second flight. It’s unclear if the Space Force’s GPS satellite has enough time to assemble and launch. Elon Musk’s hat-eating bet about ULA’s Vulcan schedule seems out of reach as ULA continues its certification missions.

READ ALSO: Elon Musk is now safe from eating his hat ‘with a side of mustard’