united launch alliance
The large Vulcan rocket has dozens of launch orders from the US Department of Defense and Amazon for the Project Kuiper megaconstellation and is expected to debut sometime this year. But when?
A spokesperson for the rocket’s main customer, Astrobotic, said in response to an inquiry from Ars that the mission is targeted for launch in the first quarter of 2023, by the end of March. A spokesperson for Vulcan manufacturer United Launch Alliance said a release date would only be set after additional testing was completed, and did not specify a timeframe.
There’s no official release date, but the past week or two has yielded some interesting clues, so we can make an educated guess. May 2023 is a reasonable target not to rush the launch date because there is so much to do.
payload
Like most large rocket projects, Vulcan’s debut was delayed by several years. There are two main causes of this mission delay, known as Cert-1 (which stands for “certification flight-1”, his two flights before the rocket was certified to carry a US Department of State payload). (meaning it was the first of the demonstration flights). defense). In the case of Vulcan, the delay was caused by the payload and the rocket’s main engine.
Last week, Astrobotic announced that its Peregrine lander has successfully completed its entire flight acceptance campaign. “Peregrine is now ready to ship to Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Astrobotic’s rocket provider, United Launch Alliance, has given the green light to receive it,” the company said. It was great news, but it didn’t tell the whole story.
With this release, it seemed like Astrobotic would just need to transport the lander from Pittsburgh to the launch site where the rocket would be loaded. However, the lander’s engine is undergoing extensive testing in White Sands, New Mexico, and is not yet flight-ready or installed on the lander. The company plans to complete engine integration into the lander at its launch site in Florida.
The engine is obviously an important part of the spacecraft. When asked if the Peregrine engine had completed testing and was certified for flight, Astrobotic spokesperson Arivia Chapra said, “Astrobotic’s Peregrine is currently on schedule and the final engine We plan to integrate the
Peregrine’s engine was developed by Frontier Aerospace and uses new technology aimed at demonstrating a lightweight and inexpensive means of space propulsion. This may have necessitated additional testing.
rocket
In the fall of 2022, the United Launch Alliance will finally deliver the main engines of the Vulcan rocket, two BE-4 engines manufactured by Blue Origin. The company has since bolted these engines to the core stage of the Vulcan and shipped the rocket and its centaurs. The upper level from the factory in Alabama to the launch site.
This hardware undergoes pre-launch processing, after which the Vulcan undergoes a series of flight readiness validation tests. This includes multiple refueling tests and a wet dress rehearsal, culminating in the engine pre-flight firing. “We will set a launch date after successfully completing flight readiness tests,” United Launch Alliance spokesperson Jessica Lai told Ars.
Assuming these tests go well (which is certainly not the case, but the United Launch Alliance has carefully prepared for these activities and has decades of operational experience), Vulcan: Ready for payload integration of commercial payloads from Astrobotic’s lander, two Project Kuiper test satellites, and commercial payloads. Celestis. Timing may depend on Peregrine’s engine.
There are other timing constraints as well. The United Launch Alliance has a very important launch planned for NASA and Boeing. About a week ago, NASA confirmed that the first manned flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will launch on her Atlas V rocket in April. The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Vulcan rockets share a launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41’s Cape Canaveral, so this significant crewed space flight will likely come before Vulcan.
This makes it very likely that Vulcan’s debut will be pushed into May. Due to Peregrine’s readiness and progress made during Vulcan testing, that date may be pushed back later in the year.
