#ULA will attempt to make history tonight with its first test flight of the new #Vulcan rocket. The booster was named in honor of Leonard Nimoy, who passed away in 2015.
ULA will retire the Atlas V and Delta IV in favor of this partially reusable rocket, which they hope will be competitive with the #SpaceX line of rockets. (1/x)
#ULA Cert-1 will carry multiple payloads, including the Peregrine commercial lunar lander, as well as a Celestis capsule containing the remains of Gene and Majel Roddenberry, as well as James Doohan and many more paying customers.
Launch time is targeting 2:18 AM EST. Very unlikely I'll be awake for it. (2/x)
#ULA will livestream the Vulcan Cert-1 mission on YouTube at this link starting at 1:30 AM EST. (3/3)
Here's the #ULA video of last night's #Vulcan Cert-1 launch. The link should take you to T-1 minute, otherwise go to 0:51:29 on the timeline.
https://www.youtube.com/live/wZ6KTFMHenA?si=zxaey1YansI6CCoJ&t=3089
More on Astrobotic and their Peregrine commericial lunar lander on their home page. They're based in Pittsburgh.
@WordsmithFL I was 3 in 1969. Would like to see a manned moon landing that I will remember. This will probably push it further into the future.
@poemblaze This has no effect on NASA's crewed lunar schedule. Artemis 2 (probably in 2025) will orbit the Moon and go beyond, probably for up to three weeks. Artemis 3 (probably 2026-2027) will be the first crewed landing attempt.
Peregrine was just a technology demonstrator for a startup commercial company to robotically deliver cargo to a lunar colony some day. NASA has no need for it until around 2030, if not later.
@WordsmithFL Glad to gear