10|13246|8Jan2024 3:39:34 Eastern
Centaur upper stage has just started for the 3rd atime
The Centaur upper stage just executed a third and final burn for 20 seconds and is now headed towards a Helio-centric orbit. This completes the coverage of the successful inaugural Vulcan rocket mission.
8Jan2024 3:12:01 Eastern
Peregrine spacecraft deployed
The Peregrine spacecraft has just separated from the Centaur upper stage and is on its way to land on the Moon. In the mean time the Centaur upper stage will continue on a 28 minute coast phase prior to the 3rd burn of the Centaur engines.
8Jan2024 3:07:15 Eastern
SECO-2
The second burn of the Centaur upper stage has just successfully completed. Separation will take place in under 3 minutes.
8Jan2024 3:03:18 Eastern
Centaur Engines have restarted
The Centaur second stage has just relit the engines for a second four minute burn.
8Jan2024 2:35:10 Eastern
MECO-1 Centaur engines shut down
The twin engines of the Centaur upper stage have just completed their first burn of 3 today. The rocket is now in orbit and will coast for 28 minutes before the second burn starts.
8Jan2024 2:27:27 Eastern
MECO separation and Centaur ignition
The main engines of the booster have shut down and the stages have separated. The centaur engines have lit successfully and the Payload Fairing has been jettisoned.
8Jan2024 2:24:39 Eastern
SRB burnout and Jettison
8Jan2024 2:22:47 Eastern
LiftOFF!!!
8Jan2024 2:17:56 Eastern
The countdown is now in the final minute
The final minute of the countdown has just been entered. GO ULA, GO VULCAN, GO PEREGRINE. All is still GO FOR LAUNCH!!!
8Jan2024 2:17:47 Eastern
The countdown is now in the final minute
The final minute of the countdown has just been entered. GO ULA, GO VULCAN, GO PEREGRINE. All is still GO FOR LAUNCH!!!
8Jan2024 2:14:44 Eastern
Fuelling is now completed
The topping off of propellants has just completed and the Vulcan rocket is ready for launch.
8Jan2024 2:12:24 Eastern
T-7 and counting
8Jan2024 2:11:40 Eastern
Terminal countdown Poll: GO FOR LAUNCH
The final poll of the countdown has just completed and all stations report GO FOR LAUNCH.
8Jan2024 2:10:21 Eastern
Today's mission will last 1 hour 18 minutes
The launch phase of the CERT-1 mission today will last for 1 Hour 18 Minutes and 44 seconds. At T-5 seconds the core booster will ignite and come to full power prior to liftoff. 1m50s into flight the SRBs will burn out and Jettison. The core booster will continue to power the rocket until T+4m58 seconds when the main engines will shut down. Staging takes place at T+5m5s and is shortly followed by the first burn of the second stage and fairing jettison.
At T+15:54 the first burn of the second stage completes. There is than a 28 minute coast phase before the Centaur engines start for the second time headed out to the moon.
8Jan2024 1:59:51 Eastern
The Vulcan Centaur Rocket
The Vulcan Centaur rocket is a two stage rocket with a pair of strap on solid rocket boosters topped by a Centaur upper stage.
The first stage is powered by two BE-4 engines which are fuelled by Liquefied Natural Gas / Methane. This is assisted during the assent by a pair of GEM 63XL Solid Rocket Boosters.
The second stage is a Centaur V powered by two RL10C-1-1A engines. These are fuelled by Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen. This will have 3 burns in today's mission.
At the top of the stack is a 5.4 metre Payload Fairing which encloses the spacecraft launched on the mission.
8Jan2024 1:48:28 Eastern
Countdown in planned hold at T-7 minutes
Everything is going to plan with no issues being worked either on the Vulcan Rocket or the Ground Systems. The countdown clock is currently in a planned 60 minute hold at T-7 minutes.
The final weather report of the countdown is about to take place.
7Jan2024 9:56:12 Eastern
Launch Visibility Graphic
If you are in Florida and the weather is clear there is a chance that you will be able to see the Vulcan rocket as it heads into space. The graphic below shows the possible viewing visibility during the flight.
Image credit ULA.
7Jan2024 9:48:37 Eastern
Long-Awaited Cert-1 Readies for Moon Landing, “Star Trek” Memorial Mission
United Launch Alliance (ULA) stands primed for the maiden certification mission (Cert-1) of its Vulcan-Centaur heavylifter, whose planned liftoff early Monday, 8 January, promises an impressive fireshow of light and sound across the sleeping Space Coast. The 202-foot-tall (61-meter) behemoth will fly from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., at 2:18 a.m. EST, laden with Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander carrying 77 pounds (35 kilograms) of customer experiments to the surface of the Moon and the “Enterprise Flight” memorial payload into deep space for Celestis, Inc.
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7Jan2024 9:46:16 Eastern
Vulcan-Centaur Rolls to Pad
In a critical step towards Monday’s scheduled maiden voyage of the Vulcan-Centaur heavylifter, United Launch Alliance (ULA) today rolled-out the 202-foot-tall (61-meter) behemoth from the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) to Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. The giant rocket—which ULA intends ultimately to replace its in-service Atlas V and soon-to-be-retired Delta IV fleets—has been a decade in the making and its long-awaited certification mission (dubbed “Cert-1”) will deliver Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander to the surface of the Moon and the “Enterprise Flight” memorial payload into deep space for Celestis, Inc.
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7Jan2024 9:44:29 Eastern
Vulcan-Centaur Set for Maiden Flight
After almost a full decade in development, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is only days away from “Cert-1”, the long-awaited maiden certification voyage of its mammoth Vulcan-Centaur heavylifter, currently targeted to fly from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., at 2:18 a.m. EST on Monday, 8 January. Aboard the 202-foot-tall (61-meter) behemoth—which ultimately will replace ULA’s in-service Atlas V and soon-to-be-retired Delta IV rocket fleets—is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander with 77 pounds (35 kilograms) of customer cargo to the surface of the Moon under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and the “Enterprise Flight” memorial payload for Celestis, Inc. ...
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7Jan2024 9:44:21 Eastern
Vulcan-Centaur Stacking Underway
After almost a decade in development, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is drawing ever closer to “Cert-1”, the long-awaited certification mission of its mammoth Vulcan-Centaur heavylifter, currently targeted to fly from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., no earlier than Christmas Eve. Stacking of the core stage and twin solid-fueled boosters is now complete, with the Centaur V upper stage currently in transit from ULA’s facility in Decatur, Ala., to the Space Coast, for integration, topping-out the behemoth rocket at more than 202 feet (61 meters).
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Jan 8 - Vulcan : CERT-1
Launch site Cape Canaveral AFB, FL
Launch Date Jan 8
From Launch Pad LC-41
Launch Window : 2:18am Eastern ( 7:18 GMT)
United Launch Alliance prepare to launch the inaugural test mission of the new Vulcan VC2S rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This mission named CERT-1 will carry two payloads.
PM1 is the Peregrine Lunar lander, part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program. The CLPS program is designed to deliver experiments and technology to the surface of the Moon.
The second payload is the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights deep space Voyager mission named the Enterprise Flight.
