Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, November 14, the United launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense Space Security, was established in December 2006 to integrate the teams of the two companies responsible for U.S. Federal launch services. Lockheed and Boeing hope that the merger will reduce costs and monopolize satellite launch engineering contracts.

The United launch Alliance announced that the first certification mission (Cert-1) for its latest Vulcan carrier rocket is scheduled to be carried out on December 24, 2023, and final preparations are under way.

The first stage of the Vulcan rocket was installed on the SLC-41 launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 26, and two more GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters (the main engine is a blue-originating BE-4 engine) were installed on the side on October 31 and November 6, providing nearly 2 million pounds (89 kilonewtons) of thrust.

According to reports, "the rocket is built for national security, commercial and civilian launches. it brings together the latest innovations at all levels and provides a unified and scalable system that can support any mission. while achieving unprecedented reliability and orbital accuracy."

The Cert-1 mission includes two payloads, including the Peregrine lunar landing module developed by Astrobotic for a future NASA mission and the ashes of Celestis Memorial Spaceflight customers, a commercial sacrifice service company.

Among them, Peregrine Lunar Lander is Peregrine Mission One (PM1), which is part of the science and technology provided by Astrobotic to NASA's commercial lunar payload service (CLPS) program.

"We have been working hard to develop this evolutionary rocket and complete the verification of the first aircraft," said Mark Peller, vice president of Vulcan development. "this next-generation carrier rocket uses new technologies at all levels to meet our country's need for expanded space missions."

The Cert-1 mission is the first of two certification flights required by the US Space Force certification process. The second certification mission is scheduled to take place in early 2024.

Cert-1 Centaur V is on its way to the ULA facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying ULA's R / S RocketShip. Future additional processing milestones include wet dress rehearsals (CTOnews.com note: fueled rehearsals, which are no different from actual launches except by pressing the launch button), spacecraft integration, and final preparation for launch.

In fact, the first launch of the rocket was originally scheduled for 2019, but has been postponed several times. The company points out that the payload launch capability of the new launch vehicle covers low-Earth orbit and even farther to Pluto and is more economical than its predecessors.

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