Astrobotic
So it was revealed over two hours ago that the earliest launch date for Astrobotic's Peregrine lander—which will head to the Moon on United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket—is Thursday, May 4!
In a series of tweets posted today, ULA pointed out that the Vulcan rocket is still undergoing flight readiness verification tests at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida...with the two BE-4 engines performing well in their qualification testing. However, the engine testing is taking longer than expected, with the 6-week program most likely concluding in mid-April.
Due to this additional testing (which will culminate with a flight readiness firing for the BE-4 engines at the pad), ULA can't make the early April launch window for Peregrine.
While it's unfortunate that Astrobotic's robotic lander won't lift off in early spring as hoped for, it's still wonderful news that ULA is confident enough in the test campaign for Vulcan that it can target a specific launch date for its newest rocket and lunar payload! We'll see if May 4, a.k.a. Star Wars Day, will be the day that Peregrine successfully embarks on its almost month-long journey to the Moon...where it will hopefully touch down softly at Gruithuisen Domes.
Stay tuned!
United Launch Alliance
No comments:
Post a Comment