ULA Prepares for First Vulcan Centaur Launch Written 17 November 2023
United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan Cert-1 booster into the Vertical Integration Facility. | Credit: ULA
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that United Launch Alliance “has its missing rocket piece in hand at Cape Canaveral and all systems are go for a Christmas Eve launch to mark the debut of its Vulcan Centaur rocket.” A new Centaur upper stage “arrived by barge to the Space Coast on Monday, a replacement for the stage ULA originally planned to fly on the Certification-1 mission this past May.” That initial flight, “already delayed for nearly two years, was again put on hold after an issue with a test version of the Centaur stage was destroyed amid a massive fireball in the spring, requiring design changes to ensure a repeat didn’t happen during actual liftoff.” ULA has been anxious “to get this debut launch off the ground with its primary payload of Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lunar lander, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions.” The lander “traveled from Astrobotic’s headquarters in Pittsburgh arriving to the Space Coast on Oct. 31.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)