{"id":17962,"date":"2019-08-19T22:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ulas-vulcan-rocket-selected-for-launches-of-moon-lander-and-mini-shuttle-in-2021\/"},"modified":"2019-08-19T22:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:21:09","slug":"ulas-vulcan-rocket-selected-for-launches-of-moon-lander-and-mini-shuttle-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ulas-vulcan-rocket-selected-for-launches-of-moon-lander-and-mini-shuttle-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket selected for launches of moon lander and mini-shuttle in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An artist\u2019s conception shows United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan rocket lifting off. (ULA Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

United Launch Alliance\u2019s next-generation Vulcan rocket \u2013 and Blue Origin\u2019s next-generation BE-4 rocket engine \u2013 have been chosen to send Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine moon lander as well as Sierra Nevada Corp.\u2019s Dream Chaser mini-shuttle to the final frontier in 2021.<\/p>\n

Neither of the past week\u2019s announcements is all that surprising, because Astrobotic and SNC both had previous agreements to use ULA\u2019s current-generation Atlas 5 rocket. But both announcements underscore the importance of holding to the current schedule for rolling out the BE-4 as well as the Vulcan, which is designed to use two BE-4 engines on its first-stage booster.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin, the privately held space venture founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is thought to be in the final stages of testing the BE-4\u2019s performance \u2013 not only for ULA\u2019s Vulcan but also for its own orbital-class New Glenn rocket, which is also due for its maiden flight in 2021.<\/p>\n

Although Blue Origin is headquartered south of Seattle in Kent, Wash., the engine tests are taking place at the company\u2019s facility in West Texas. The BE-4 is designed to use liquefied natural gas as fuel and achieve maximum thrust of 550,000 pounds.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Bezos touted a full-power engine firing in Texas.<\/p>\n

Once the BE-4 passes its qualification tests, engine production will shift from Kent to a factory that\u2019s currently under construction in Huntsville, Ala. Vulcan rockets will be assembled nearby at ULA\u2019s factory in Decatur, Ala. The Vulcan launch system would make use of ULA\u2019s Centaur upper stage.<\/p>\n

\"Astrobotic's
An artist\u2019s conception shows Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lander on the lunar surface. (Astrobotic Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a news release, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said the Astrobotic moon mission would mark Vulcan\u2019s first launch. It would take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and serve as the first of two certification flights required by the U.S. Air Force for national security missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur rockets have carried exploration missions to the moon, the sun and every planet in the solar system, so it is only fitting that Vulcan Centaur\u2019s inaugural flight will lead the return of Americans to the lunar surface,\u201d Bruno said today. \u201cWe could not be more excited to fly this mission for Astrobotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic was selected to deliver up to 14 NASA payloads to the lunar surface in 2021, under the terms of a $79.5 million award from NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.<\/p>\n

The company says it has agreements to fly more than two dozen payloads for 16 customers on its first moon mission \u2013 and has a \u201chealthy payload pipeline\u201d for follow-up missions.<\/p>\n

Astrobotic\u2019s most recently published timeline calls for launch in June 2021, with the lunar landing planned for the following month.<\/p>\n