NASA science bound for Moon after successful Vulcan Centaur launch
(2024/01/08)
- Reference: 1704722409
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/08/vulcan_centaur_launch/
- Source link:
The relief was palpable as United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched the first of its next-generation Vulcan rockets.
The Vulcan Centaur is [1]intended to replace the workhorse Atlas V rocket and the Delta IV Heavy. But it has been plagued by development problems and delays, not least the late delivery of the Blue Origin BE-4 engines required to power the first stage.
The launch occurred at 0218 EST, January 8, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission included two payloads: Astrobotic's first Peregrine Lunar Lander – Peregrine Mission One – and the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights Enterprise flight.
[2]
The mission was dubbed Cert-1, and a second mission, Cert-2, will be required to complete the US Space Force's certification process. A US national security mission is planned for the summer.
[3]
[4]
The Peregrine lander will take approximately 46 days to reach the lunar surface, and NASA has five science and research payloads on board.
Following a scheduled February 23 landing, [5]NASA expects to spend ten days gathering data from the instruments. These include a linear energy transfer spectrometer, which relies on flight-proven hardware that flew in space on the Orion spacecraft's 2014 uncrewed flight, and the Ion-Trap mass spectrometer, which was previously developed for the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Rosetta mission.
[6]
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and represents the agency's first return to the lunar surface in more than half a century.
[7]NASA's VIPER is half-built, with launch plans for this year
[8]Another day, another delay to first Vulcan Centaur launch
[9]Amazon hitches a ride with SpaceX for Project Kuiper launches
[10]ULA's Vulcan Centaur hopes to rocket into Christmas
This is unless you count missions such as the Lunar Prospector, which also returned to the Moon's surface, albeit at a deliberately high speed, to generate a plume from the crash for study by scientists. Or perhaps the [11]Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) , which followed a Centaur stage to the Moon's surface, relaying data from the plume generated by the stage's impact before itself impacting a few minutes later.
ULA has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches, including 38 missions for Amazon's Project Kuiper. Jeff Bezos will also be breathing a sigh of relief at the launch's success, not just for the green light it gives for Kuiper launches on the rocket. The BE-4 engine is also to be used for his rocket company's New Glenn, which is also due to make its much-delayed maiden flight this year.
After the lengthy gestation period of ULA's latest, the company hopes to reach a bi-weekly launch cadence. While the current iteration is entirely expendable, there are hopes that the engines might be made recoverable and reused in a future upgrade.
Today's successful launch marks the start of a busy 2024 for rocket fans. As well as a hoped-for first flight for the New Glenn from Blue Origin, Arianespace is set to debut the Ariane 6 too.
[12]
And you never know, SpaceX might also manage a Starship mission without the rocket exploding prematurely. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://newsroom.ulalaunch.com/releases/united-launch-alliance-successfully-launches-first-next-generation-vulcan-rocket
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-science-heads-to-moon-on-first-us-private-robotic-artemis-flight/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/nasas_viper_is_halfbuilt/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/11/another_day_another_delay_for/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/amazon_spacex_project_kuiper/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/25/ula_vulcan_centaur_christmas/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2009/09/29/lcross_retargeted/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The Vulcan Centaur is [1]intended to replace the workhorse Atlas V rocket and the Delta IV Heavy. But it has been plagued by development problems and delays, not least the late delivery of the Blue Origin BE-4 engines required to power the first stage.
The launch occurred at 0218 EST, January 8, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission included two payloads: Astrobotic's first Peregrine Lunar Lander – Peregrine Mission One – and the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights Enterprise flight.
[2]
The mission was dubbed Cert-1, and a second mission, Cert-2, will be required to complete the US Space Force's certification process. A US national security mission is planned for the summer.
[3]
[4]
The Peregrine lander will take approximately 46 days to reach the lunar surface, and NASA has five science and research payloads on board.
Following a scheduled February 23 landing, [5]NASA expects to spend ten days gathering data from the instruments. These include a linear energy transfer spectrometer, which relies on flight-proven hardware that flew in space on the Orion spacecraft's 2014 uncrewed flight, and the Ion-Trap mass spectrometer, which was previously developed for the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Rosetta mission.
[6]
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and represents the agency's first return to the lunar surface in more than half a century.
[7]NASA's VIPER is half-built, with launch plans for this year
[8]Another day, another delay to first Vulcan Centaur launch
[9]Amazon hitches a ride with SpaceX for Project Kuiper launches
[10]ULA's Vulcan Centaur hopes to rocket into Christmas
This is unless you count missions such as the Lunar Prospector, which also returned to the Moon's surface, albeit at a deliberately high speed, to generate a plume from the crash for study by scientists. Or perhaps the [11]Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) , which followed a Centaur stage to the Moon's surface, relaying data from the plume generated by the stage's impact before itself impacting a few minutes later.
ULA has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches, including 38 missions for Amazon's Project Kuiper. Jeff Bezos will also be breathing a sigh of relief at the launch's success, not just for the green light it gives for Kuiper launches on the rocket. The BE-4 engine is also to be used for his rocket company's New Glenn, which is also due to make its much-delayed maiden flight this year.
After the lengthy gestation period of ULA's latest, the company hopes to reach a bi-weekly launch cadence. While the current iteration is entirely expendable, there are hopes that the engines might be made recoverable and reused in a future upgrade.
Today's successful launch marks the start of a busy 2024 for rocket fans. As well as a hoped-for first flight for the New Glenn from Blue Origin, Arianespace is set to debut the Ariane 6 too.
[12]
And you never know, SpaceX might also manage a Starship mission without the rocket exploding prematurely. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://newsroom.ulalaunch.com/releases/united-launch-alliance-successfully-launches-first-next-generation-vulcan-rocket
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-science-heads-to-moon-on-first-us-private-robotic-artemis-flight/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/nasas_viper_is_halfbuilt/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/11/another_day_another_delay_for/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/amazon_spacex_project_kuiper/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/25/ula_vulcan_centaur_christmas/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2009/09/29/lcross_retargeted/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZwqOWW47fMNOW@9pnQRzgAAABg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: How the mighty are fallen
Gene Cash
Don't forget, SpaceX started with engines tossed in the trash by Congress & NASA, and the chief engineer kept a couple examples in his garage.
And at least we are no longer launching our spy satellites with Russian made engines.
Re: How the mighty are fallen
Pascal Monett
Well what do you expect ? Congress is done giving NASA a blank check, Soviet Russia is gone. Now NASA is being nickel-and-dimed to death, and billionnaires with a penchant for erecting great big, uh, rockets, are the only thing still giving us access to orbit.
Remember the theory of trickle-down economics ? This may be the one valid example.
Re: How the mighty are fallen
zuckzuckgo
As opposed to being dependant on chip and processor technology developed so we can watch cat videos all day without having to bother with a recharge?
...We have a problem!
Wellyboot
Seems that the attitude control system is borked.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67915696
How the mighty are fallen
..if the world's largest economy has to rely on rocket engines developed essentially as a vanity project by a billionaire bookseller.