ULA targets Christmas Eve for inaugural launch of Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral

Rick Neale, Florida Today

United Launch Alliance is now targeting Christmas Eve to attempt to launch its new Vulcan Centaur rocket on an inaugural mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

“The reason it’s Christmas Eve is because of science: orbital mechanics," ULA CEO Tory Bruno said Tuesday during a CNBC interview.

ULA's Vulcan Centaur — which is slated to replace the Atlas V — will launch Dec. 24 from Launch Complex 41, company officials announced via X (formerly Twitter).

The rocket will carry Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, which NASA expects to advance research ahead of putting two astronauts on the moon's surface before 2030. The lander is expected to touch down on the northern part of the moon.

A Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload will also fly aboard the rocket.

Bruno told CNBC that the launch window extends from Dec. 24 to 26, with a similar window opening in January if necessary. He said ULA will launch several rockets next year, with the cadence increasing by mid-2025 to a launch every two weeks.

A ULA spokesperson deferred comment Tuesday morning to the company's social media and Bruno's previous comments.

More: 'A major success': SpaceX launch is record-breaking 58th from Cape Canaveral in a year

The next-generation rocket's debut launch date was previously postponed after a Centaur upper stage exploded in March during testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

A subsequent investigation blamed a hydrogen leak that created a crack in Centaur's 18-foot diameter tank.

The Vulcan Centaur's major components arrived at Cape Canaveral in January via barge after a 2,000-mile voyage from the company's rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama.

In June, ULA successfully completed a six-second test fire of the Vulcan Centaur's BE-4 main engines at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Vulcan’s first Certification-1 mission is a test flight designed to meet future Space Force national-security mission-certification requirements.

When is the next launch from Florida's Space Coast?

The United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur payload fairing is seen at the Decatur, Alabama, rocket factory ready to support Vulcan's first flight.
The United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur payload fairing is seen at the Decatur, Alabama, rocket factory ready to support Vulcan's first flight.

Though SpaceX has yet to confirm the mission's existence, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warnings indicate a rocket launch window will open Saturday night:

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

  • Launch Window: 7:13 p.m. to 11:44 p.m. EDT.

  • Trajectory: Southeast.

  • Weather: TBD.

  • Landing: Drone ship.

  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

  • About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

For the latest schedule updates, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here). Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: ULA sets first Vulcan Centaur rocket launch on Christmas Eve at Cape

Advertisement