Astrobotic
Just thought I'd share these exciting images that were posted online today showing the Peregrine lander—with the student-built Iris Rover attached to it—getting ready to ship from Astrobotic's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida!
Peregrine departed from Astrobotic early this morning, and should take a few days to reach United Launch Alliance's (ULA) facilities at CCSFS.
This momentous milestone comes a few days after ULA began assembling the Vulcan rocket (tasked with sending Peregrine and Iris to the Moon) inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at CCSFS' Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41. The Centaur V that will fly with this Vulcan vehicle and give Peregrine the final boost needed to escape Earth's gravity and head to lunar orbit will arrive at SLC-41 next month...after undergoing modifications to its liquid hydrogen fuel tank (at ULA's rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama) following a mishap with a Centaur V test article at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center earlier this year.
Peregrine will have its five main engine nozzles installed once it arrives at the ULA facilities in Florida. After that, the lander will be encapsulated by the Vulcan's twin payload fairings, sent to the VIF to be mated with the Centaur V and the rest of the rocket, and then rolled out to the SLC-41 pad for launch—which is now scheduled for Sunday, December 24!
Exciting times ahead...
Astrobotic
Astrobotic
Astrobotic
The #VulcanRocket #Cert1 launch campaign includes hoisting the first stage aboard the Vulcan Launch Platform, installing two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters, interstage & Centaur V, performing a final Wet Dress Rehearsal & attaching the encapsulated payload. #CountdowntoVulcan pic.twitter.com/9Bgjm4svlC
— ULA (@ulalaunch) October 26, 2023
Still running ahead of schedule. Here it is in the finishing station. #CountDowntoVulcan #VulcanRocket https://t.co/QdOZ878VKB pic.twitter.com/nOPtqcPqzY
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) October 26, 2023
Carnegie Mellon University has started its historic journey to the moon! Iris, a tiny, lightweight lunar rover built by CMU students, and MoonArk, a collaborative sculpture project led by faculty, students and alumni, is en route to a Florida launch pad🌒https://t.co/u13sHUQ1ux pic.twitter.com/pq7A8BqzPl
— Carnegie Mellon University (@CarnegieMellon) October 27, 2023
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