French
DeutschList of Vulcan launches
This is a list of launches made by the Vulcan Centaur rocket, first launched January 8, 2024.
Notable missions[edit]
Peregrine Mission One[edit]
Peregrine Mission One, or the Peregrine Lunar Lander, was a lunar lander built by Astrobotic Technology, selected as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). It was launched successfully on the maiden flight of Vulcan Centaur on January 8, 2024 at 2:18 am EST [1] by United Launch Alliance (ULA) aboard a Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle on its maiden flight. The lander carried multiple payloads, with a total payload mass capacity of 90 kg.[2] However, following a fuel leak with the spacecraft, unrelated to the launch vehicle, the lander failed in its attempt. The launch vehicle however made a very successful introduction into service following the launch.
Launch statistics[edit]
Launch sites[edit]
Launch history[edit]
2024[edit]
| Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 January 2024, 07:18 | Vulcan Centaur VC2S | CCSFS, SLC-41 | Peregrine lander / Enterprise (space burial) | 1283 kg | TLI (Peregrine) / Heliocentric (Enterprise) | Astrobotic Technology / Celestis | Success[3] |
| Maiden flight of Vulcan Centaur. Also known as Certification-1. Also included a payload from Celestis, demonstrating engine restart capability of the Centaur upper stage delivering multiple payloads to different orbits. The Peregrine payload failed in transit to the Moon, precluding a landing attempt, due to reasons unrelated to the launch vehicle.[4] | ||||||||
Future launches[edit]
2024[edit]
| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, configuration | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024[5] | Vulcan Centaur VC4L[6] | CCSFS, SLC-41 | SNC Demo-1 (Dream Chaser Tenacity.1) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) |
| First flight of Dream Chaser. | |||||
| June 2024[7] | Vulcan Centaur VC4L[6] | CCSFS, SLC-41 | USSF-106 / NTS-3[8] | GEO | U.S. Space Force |
| First National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission for Vulcan Centaur.[9] | |||||
| Q3 2024[10] | Vulcan Centaur VC4S[6] | CCSFS, SLC-41 | GPS-III SV07 | MEO | U.S. Space Force |
| First GPS mission for Vulcan Centaur. | |||||
| 2024[11] | Vulcan Centaur VC4 | CCSFS, SLC-41 | USSF-112 | TBA | U.S. Space Force |
| Classified payload. | |||||
| 2024[11] | Vulcan Centaur VC4 | CCSFS, SLC-41 | USSF-87 | TBA | U.S. Space Force |
| Classified payload. | |||||
| 2024[12] | Vulcan Centaur | CCSFS, SLC-41 | WGS-11 | GEO | U.S. Space Force |
| Military communications satellite. | |||||
2025[edit]
| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, configuration | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur VC4S | CCSFS, SLC-41 | GPS-III SV08 | MEO | U.S. Space Force |
| Eighth GPS Block III navigation satellite. | |||||
| 2025[14] | Vulcan Centaur VC4S | CCSFS, SLC-41 | GPS-III SV09 | MEO | U.S. Space Force |
| Ninth GPS Block III navigation satellite. | |||||
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur | CCSFS, SLC-41 | NROL-64 | TBA | NRO |
| First NRO launch on Vulcan | |||||
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur | VSFB, SLC-3E | NROL-83 | TBA | NRO |
| Classified NRO payload. First Vulcan Centaur launch from Vandenberg | |||||
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur | VSFB, SLC-3E | SDA T1TR-B | LEO | SDA |
| Tranche 1 Tracking Layer B missile tracking satellites. | |||||
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur | VSFB, SLC-3E | SDA T1TR-D | LEO | SDA |
| Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D missile tracking satellites. | |||||
| 2025[13] | Vulcan Centaur | VSFB, SLC-3E | USSF-114 | TBA | U.S. Space Force |
| Classified payload. | |||||
2027[edit]
| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, configuration | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLT 2027[15][14] | Vulcan Centaur | CCSFS, SLC-41[16] | DRACO Demo (USSF-25) | LEO | U.S. Space Force |
| Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) is a DARPA program to demonstrate a working nuclear thermal rocket in space. | |||||
TBD[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Bruno, Tory (10 December 2023). "#VulcanRocket WDR update". X. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ McCrea, Aaron (8 January 2024). "Vulcan successfully launches Peregrine lunar lander on inaugural flight". NASASpaceFlight. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "The first US Moon landing in more than 50 years has hit a major hurdle after a 'critical' fuel leak". ABC News. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Sierra Space CEO unveils new satellite product ahead of Dream Chaser launch, possible IPO". CNBC. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at Krebs, Gunter (19 December 2023). "Vulcan". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Berger, Eric (10 January 2024). "After its impressive first flight, here's what's next for the Vulcan rocket". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (9 April 2022). "Air Force space experiment will seek to demonstrate multi-orbit satellite navigation". SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (27 February 2023). "Air Force navigation satellite to launch on Vulcan's first national security mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ a b "FY21 NSS Missions". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (13 April 2023). "Boeing unveils WGS-11 design with new military payload". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Erwin, Sandra (8 June 2023). "Space Force assigns 12 national security missions to SpaceX and ULA". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Erwin, Sandra (31 October 2023). "Space Force assigns 21 national security missions to ULA and SpaceX". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (26 July 2023). "NASA and DARPA select Lockheed Martin to develop DRACO nuclear propulsion demo". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i @thesheetztweetz (1 November 2023). "And, for those curious, here's the rundown of the 21 mission assignments:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Space Systems Command announces 21 mission assignments for National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Procurement" (PDF). 31 October 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Erwin, Sandra (30 May 2022). "Space Force identifies national security launches funded in 2022 and 2023". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (29 April 2022). "First Dream Chaser vehicle takes shape". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Amazon Signs Contract with United Launch Alliance for 38 Project Kuiper Launches on Vulcan Centaur". ULA. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2024.