CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on its inaugural flight on Monday at 2:18 am.
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The certification mission brings the Vulcan rocket closer to flying national security missions.
There will be a second certification flight later this year.
But, this first mission did have two payloads: a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight carrying the cremated remains and DNA samples from the creator of Star Trek and a number of original cast members, and Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander.
WATCH: ULA launches Vulcan rocket from Space Coast, eyes first US lunar landing in over 50 years
Unfortunately, the commercial lander suffered a critical propellant loss after attempting to correct itself after running into a propulsion system issue.
Under the circumstances, The Astrobotic team will assess what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.
The lander is carrying a number of NASA instruments intended to help inform future Artemis missions to the moon.
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