ULA Vulcan Rocket Lifts Off: Lunar Lander Mission Aims For First US Soft Landing In Over 50 Years

United Launch Alliance‘s new Vulcan rocket took off successfully for the first time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:18 a.m. EST after several delays. The flight included two payloads, including a Peregrine Lunar Lander from space robotics firm Astrobotic.

Positioned as a competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9, ULA's new vehicle is expected to transport satellites and cargo for entities such as the Pentagon, NASA, and Amazon. The rocket, ULA says, combines the abilities of its older Atlas V and Delta IV heavy rocket.

"Vulcan will provide high performance and affordability while continuing to deliver our superior reliability and orbital precision for all our customers across the national security, civil, and commercial markets," ULA CEO Tory Bruno said.

For ULA, this mission- known as Cert-1- serves as the first of two certification flights required by the U.S. Space Force before the Vulcan can fly national security payloads. The second flight will be in the coming months, the company, a joint venture between Boeing Co BA and Lockheed Martin Corp LMT, said.

The company is now eyeing a bi-weekly launch rate and upgrades aimed at better reusability and recovery of Vulcan engines. The company has already sold over 70 Vulcan launches, including 38 missions for Amazon's Project Kuiper.

Meanwhile, the Peregrine is eyeing making a soft landing on the moon on Feb. 23 after a 46-day journey, marking the first American landing since the Apollo in 1972. The lander is carrying several NASA scientific instruments to study the Moon for about ten days after landing.

"Peregrine powered on acquired a signal with Earth and is now moving through space on its way to the Moon. These successes bring us one step closer to seven nations landing on the Moon, six of which have never been to the Moon before," Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said.

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