A brand new rocket blasted off early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending a robotic spacecraft toward the surface of the Moon.
The launch of the vehicle, the Vulcan rocket, went smoothly. The spacecraft it was carrying, built by Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, separated 50 minutes into the flight and its systems were successfully powered on.
However, a few hours later, Astrobotic reported on the social media service that the spacecraft, known as Peregrine, was having trouble keeping its solar panels pointed at the sun to generate electricity.
The company then said The likely cause of the problem was a malfunction in Peregrine’s propulsion system which “if proven true, threatens the spacecraft’s ability to land smoothly on the Moon.”
An improvised maneuver managed to reorient the solar panels towards the sun, allowing the battery to charge.
If Astrobotic engineers can keep the spacecraft alive, they will have time to design potential solutions to the propulsion problem. Peregrine is not expected to enter lunar orbit for two and a half weeks.
Peregrine is leading five NASA experiments to closely study the Moon’s surface. NASA officials have said they are willing to take higher risks on these less expensive missions.
“Every success and every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow,” Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “We will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance Moon science, exploration and commercial development.”
For United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the successful launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket was crucial. Vulcan is designed to replace two older rockets, and the U.S. Space Force also relies on it to launch spy satellites and other spacecraft important to U.S. national security.
The Vulcan is also the first in a series of new rockets that could chip away at Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s current dominance of the space launch market. SpaceX sent nearly 100 rockets into orbit last year. Other early orbital launches in the coming months include the Ariane 6 rocket from Arianespace, a European company, and New Glenn from Blue Origin, the company created by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
During the night, the Vulcan rocket’s countdown went smoothly and the weather cooperated.
At 2:18 a.m. Eastern Time, the rocket’s engines ignited and lifted off from the launch pad, heading east over the Atlantic Ocean.
“Everything looks good,” Rob Gannon, launch commentator at United Launch Alliance, said repeatedly as the Vulcan headed toward space.
“Yeah, haw,” said Tory Bruno, the company’s chief executive, after the lunar spacecraft’s deployment. “I’m so thrilled. “I can’t tell you how bad.”
United Launch Alliance was established in 2006 and for nine years was the only company certified by the United States government to send national security payloads into orbit. Until now, it used two vehicles: the Delta IV, developed by Boeing, which will make its last flight later this year, and the Atlas V, developed by Lockheed Martin, which will also retire in a few years.
Seventeen Atlas V launches remain, but the rocket uses Russian-made engines, which has become more politically untenable with rising tensions between Russia and the United States. That led ULA to begin development of the Vulcan, which replaces the capabilities of both rockets at a lower cost, United Launch Alliance officials said.
“What is unique about Vulcan, and what we originally set out to do, was to deliver a rocket that had all the capabilities of Atlas and Delta in a single system,” said Mark Peller, vice president of the ULA in charge of the development of Vulcan. “Because we have this adjustability, its configuration can really be tailored to the specific mission.”
Vulcan can be configured in different ways. Its primary booster stage, the main body of the rocket, is powered by two BE-4 engines manufactured by Blue Origin. The engines, which emit deep blue flames when burning methane, will also be used on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
Up to six solid-fuel rocket boosters can be attached to the side of the core to increase the amount of mass it can lift into orbit. Its front cone is available in two sizes: a standard size of 51 feet in length and a longer size of 70 feet for larger payloads.
“The launch market is more robust than it has been in decades,” said Carissa Christensen, managing director of Bryce Tech, a consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. “And projected demand will likely be sufficient to support multiple launch providers, including Vulcan.”
ULA already has an order book of more than 70 missions to carry out on Vulcan. Amazon has purchased 38 launches for the deployment of Project Kuiper, a communications satellite constellation that will compete with SpaceX’s Starlink network to provide high-speed satellite Internet access.
Most other launches will be for the Space Force. ULA and SpaceX are currently the only companies authorized to launch national security missions. Monday’s launch is the first of two demonstration missions the Space Force is expected to trust Vulcan with before using the launch vehicle for military and surveillance payloads.
The second launch is to lift Dream Chaser, an uncrewed spaceplane built by Sierra Space of Louisville, Colorado, on a cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. This could then be followed by four additional Vulcan launches this year for the Space Force.
The primary payload for Vulcan’s first launch was Peregrine, Astrobotic’s lunar lander. Astrobotic, founded in 2007, is one of several private companies aiming to provide a delivery service to the surface of the Moon. Its main client for this trip is NASA, which paid Astrobotic $108 million. No American spacecraft has made a soft landing on the Moon since 1972.
This is part of the scientific work carried out by the space agency to prepare for the return of astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Unlike in the past, when NASA built and operated its own spacecraft, this time it is relying on companies such as Astrobotic to provide transportation.
He announced this effort, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, for short, in 2018. But it was slow to get going. After repeated delays, Astrobotic’s Peregrine flight is the first CLPS mission to reach space.
The planned destination for Peregrine’s February 23 landing is Sinus Viscositatis – Latin for “Bay of Stickiness” – an enigmatic region located on the near side of the moon.
A second CLPS mission, carried out by Intuitive Machines of Houston, is expected to launch as early as mid-February and take a faster path to the Moon, meaning it could reach the surface before February 23.
Vulcan also raised a secondary payload for Celestis, a company that memorializes people by sending some of their ashes or DNA into space. Two toolbox-sized containers attached to the Vulcan’s upper floor house 268 small cylindrical capsules.
Among those whose remains were found on this final voyage were Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek; his wife, Majel Barrett, who played Nurse Chapel in the original TV show; and three other actors from the series: DeForest Kelley, who played doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy; Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, the communications manager; and James Doohan, who played Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer.
One of the capsules contains hair samples from three American presidents: George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.
A final brief engine fire sent the second stage and the Celestis Memorial into orbit around the sun.
Celestis, along with another company providing similar services, Elysium Space of San Francisco, also has a payload on Peregrine. That sparked protest from Navajo Nation leaders, who say many Native Americans considered the moon a sacred place and were considering sending human remains there to be desecrated. Navajo officials asked the White House to delay the launch to discuss the issue.
Charles Chafer, Celestis’ chief executive, said he respects everyone’s religious beliefs, but “I don’t think you can regulate space missions on religious grounds.”
In press conferences, NASA officials indicated that they were not in charge of the mission and had no say in other payloads sold by Astrobotic on Peregrine. “An intergovernmental meeting is being arranged with the Navajo Nation, which NASA will support,” Dr. Kearns said at a press conference Thursday.
John Thornton, Astrobotic’s chief executive, said Friday that he was disappointed that “this conversation happened so late in the game” because his company had announced the involvement of Celestis and Elysium years ago. .
“We’re really trying to do the right thing,” Mr. Thornton said. “I hope we can find a good path forward with the Navajo Nation.”
Although Vulcan has many payloads to launch over the next few years, its long-term prospects are less clear. Other aerospace companies are looking to capture a piece of Space Force’s business, and Amazon could move more of its Kuiper launches to Mr. Bezos’s Blue Origin in the future.
Another factor affecting Vulcan’s future is SpaceX landing and reusing its Falcon 9 boosters, which will likely give it a considerable price advantage over ULA. In contrast, the entire Vulcan rocket is only used once. Blue Origin also plans to reuse New Glenn boosters.
ULA is developing technology that could be used to recover the two booster engines, the most expensive part of the rocket, but that will take years.
