Vulcan Maiden Flight to the Moon (Peregrine Lunar Lander) [08.01.2024; UTC 07:18]

Update 08.01.24:
Launch has been a big success for ULA and Blue Origin. Unfortunately Astrobotic has been informing the public about issues with regards to positioning solar panels. The propulsion system seems to be losing fuel.

Post 1:

An Update on Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/Q20dGVOMml

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Post 2:

Update #2 on Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/hS5QsAihh4

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Post 3:

Update #3 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/z4NK2achGG

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Post 4:

Update #4 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/6uISAG3Je1

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

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Peregrine Mission One

Peregrine Lunar Lander by Astrobotic Technology will ride on the maiden flight of the Vulcan rocket by United Launch Alliance (ULA).

The lander has a payload capacity of 90 kg. Among the payloads is a 33 kg Rover from the Carneige Mellon University and 5 extremely small (12 cm, 60 g) rovers from the Agencia Espacial Mexicana]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agencia_Espacial_Mexicana).

SpaceFlight Now: Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission 1, explained

The lander does not have heaters onboard. Which means it will probably not survive the lunar night (14 days). The mission on the surface is expected to last around 10 days.

There are at least two more Peregrine missions to the Moon planned. Each with successively higher payload capacity.

Peregrine Mission Trajectory:

Source: NASA

Griffin Mission One

Later in 2024, the bigger brother Griffin is expected to launch on a Falcon Heavy for the south polar region of the Moon.

First First: Vulcan Maiden Launch

Being part of a maiden launch is usually considered high risk in the space industry. The first launches have the highest risk of failure and payloads are usually very expensive and take a long time to be replaced. Industry standard is around 90 to 95% success rate, with failures heavily slanted towards the first launches.

If an important mission like this rides on a maiden flight, ULA is a great address because they have an outstanding launch track record:

• Atlas V achieved 98,94% reliability (93 out of 94).
• Delta IV achieved 97,73% reliability (43 out of 44).

Flight Profile:

Source: ULA

Vulcan Rocket

Vulcan can launch in four configurations, depending on how many solid rocket boosters (SRB) it has attached at launch (0, 2, 4 and 6).
This launch will launch in the VC2 configuration (2 SRB). That configuration is comparable to SpaceX’ Falcon 9. In the VC6 configuration, the Falcon Heavy has about double or triple payload mass to various orbits.

Rocket	Mass to LEO [kg]	Mass to GTO [kg]
VC2	19,000	2,600
Falcon 9	22,800	8,300
VC6	27,200	14,500
Falcon Heavy	63,800	26,700

Second First: BE-4 Engines

It will be the first time that Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine will take to space. It is fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid methane, like SpaceX’ new Raptor engine, which is used on Starship.
Scott Manley explaining why methane/oxygen engines are the new hype in space flight:
Why Next Generation Rockets are Using Methane

ULA is for Sale

Potential bidders:

• Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos)
• Cerberus (private equity)
• Textron (Cessna)

A successful launch of Vulcan could make that a deal happen in a short period of time. As Cerberus is a private equity company, it is possible that they could team up with either of the other two bidders.
Jeff Bezos doesn’t need a partner to afford ULA. Why should he share ownership? He would inherit a great track record and could access national security missions immediately.
Cerberus might be building their own integrated space conglomerate. They could easily partner up with Textron and build together for a later spin-off.

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Livestream

• United Launch Alliance - Jan. 8 LIVE Broadcast: Vulcan Cert-1
• Tim Dodd: Watch ULA launch their Vulcan rocket for the first time ever!
• NASASpaceflightULA Launches the First Vulcan Centaur with the Peregrine Moon Lander

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Further Reading

Press Kit: NASA
Vulcan Centaur: Overview
Tim Dodd providing context around Vulcan: Will New Glenn be the KING of Heavy Lift Rockets?
Tim Dodd providing context for the BE-4 engine: Is SpaceX's Raptor engine the king of rocket engines?
Joe Scott: ULA's Delta, Atlas, And Vulcan Rockets - The Past And Future Of Space Travel | Answers With Joe

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Useful links to stay up to date on launches:

Spaceflightnow.com: Launch Schedule

Nextspaceflight: Launches

Everyday Astronaut: Prelaunch Previews

Space News:

NASA Spaceflight nasaspacefight.com

TMRO: YouTube

Track Starlink satellites: https://satellitemap.space/

Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink

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Vote for my witness: @blue-witness

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