Monday, February 15, 2021

Peregrine Update: The Vulcan Centaur Rocket Will Soon Be Ready for Their Inaugural Flight to the Moon Later This Year...

The Pathfinder Tanking Test (PTT) booster for the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket is placed atop its mobile launcher platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida...on February 15, 2021.
United Launch Alliance

Happy Presidents' Day, fellow Yanks, and a Happy Monday to everyone else! Just thought I'd share these photos that were released by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) earlier today...showing the Pathfinder Tanking Test (PTT) booster for the Vulcan Centaur rocket being lifted onto its mobile launcher platform (MLP) inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. The PTT vehicle—which will eventually fly next year after it is outfitted with flightworthy BE-4 engines from the Jeff Bezos-owned company Blue Origin—arrived at Port Canaveral near CCSFS last Friday, after an 8-day sea voyage aboard ULA's Rocket Ship that began at the company's manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama. Today's activity was known as the Launch Vehicle On Stand (LVOS) operation...with the PTT article about to undergo a series of tests atop its MLP before it is rolled out to the pad at Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 sometime in the spring to undergo a series of liquid oxygen and liquified natural gas (the rocket fuel that Vulcan Centaur will use) loading procedures.

The full-scale Structural Test Model for Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander...which is set to head to the Moon aboard ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket later this year.

So how is this relevant to Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander (shown above), you ask? Well, Peregrine is scheduled to launch to the Moon aboard a Vulcan Centaur later this year...and the commencement of pathfinder activities for this new heavy-lift rocket in Florida is the latest sign that the maiden flight of Astrobotic's four-legged spacecraft is soon underway. Once the LVOS campaign at SLC-41 is complete, the PTT vehicle will be removed from the MLP and replaced with the actual Vulcan Centaur rocket that will send Peregrine to our closest celestial neighbor 239,000 miles away. Assuming the landing goes well, Peregrine will become the first privately-made spacecraft to safely touch down on the lunar surface. And if that's the case, I look forward to posting a Blog entry immediately afterwards to show why I have a personal stake in this exciting mission! Stay tuned.

The PTT booster for ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket is transported to the VIF at CCSFS in Florida for Launch Vehicle On Stand (LVOS) operations...on February 15, 2021.
United Launch Alliance

LVOS operations commence as the Vulcan Centaur's PTT booster is hoisted into the air prior to being transported into the VIF at CCSFS in Florida...on February 15, 2021.
United Launch Alliance

LVOS operations continue as the Vulcan Centaur's PTT booster continues to be hoisted into the air prior to being transported into the VIF at CCSFS in Florida...on February 15, 2021.
United Launch Alliance

The Vulcan Centaur's PTT booster is now placed in vertical prior to being installed atop its mobile launcher platform inside the VIF at CCSFS in Florida...on February 15, 2021.
United Launch Alliance
Posted by Richard Par at 7:09 PM
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