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Get ready for an incredible moon mission set to launch early Monday morning (Jan. 8), and you won’t want to miss out on witnessing the action live.
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket is all set to take off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday at 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 GMT). This highly-anticipated launch will mark the first ever for the powerful new rocket, carrying the private Peregrine moon lander toward Earth’s nearest neighbor.
You can catch all the excitement right here at Space.com, with live streaming courtesy of NASA TV, starting at 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 GMT) on Monday.
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Artist’s illustration of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket lifting off. (Image credit: United Launch Alliance)
The upcoming launch of Vulcan Centaur is of great significance, as it will replace ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. Both Atlas V and Delta IV have sent a variety of high-profile spacecraft into space, with the former’s notable payloads including NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, New Horizons Pluto probe and OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission, among others.
Delta IV, now retired, has also made significant contributions, carrying U.S. spy satellites, as well as NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and the first-ever mission of the agency’s Orion capsule back in 2014.
Standing at 202 feet tall, the Vulcan Centaur is made up of two stages and can be augmented by up to six strap-on solid rocket boosters. The first stage is powered by two of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, making this a major mission for Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company. The BE-4 is also the first-stage engine for New Glenn, Blue Origin’s big, reusable rocket currently in development.
On to the mission ahead, this liftoff will be a historic one for Peregrine as well. The robotic lander, built by Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic, has its sights set on becoming the first private spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon.
The Peregrine is flying via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which plays a key role in paving the way for the agency’s crewed Artemis moon landings. The private spacecraft is bringing with it a variety of scientific payloads, provided by NASA, other space agencies, and some commercial cargo as well.
However, not everyone is thrilled about the mission. It’s drawn criticism from the Navajo Nation over the inclusion of memorial capsules from the companies Celestis and Elysium Space, as they believe the delivery of human remains to the moon would desecrate a sacred space.
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Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with