First Vulcan Rocket Launches Peregrine Lander to the Moon
First Vulcan Rocket Launches Peregrine Lander to the Moon
One Payload Draws Criticism from Native American Nation
The first next-generation Vulcan rocket was successfully launched by United Launch Alliance this morning from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch took place at 2:18 a.m. EST.
“Vulcan continues the legacy of Atlas as the world’s only high-energy architecture rocket.”
Tory Bruno, ULA
Vulcan will leverage the world’s highest-performing upper stage to deliver on ULA’s industry-leading legacy of reliability and precision, according to ULA. Centaur V’s matchless flexibility and extreme endurance enables the most complex orbital insertions within the most challenging and clandestine orbits.
“Vulcan’s inaugural launch ushers in a new, innovative capability to meet the ever-growing requirements of space launch,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “Vulcan will provide high performance and affordability while continuing to deliver our superior reliability and orbital precision for all our customers across the national security, civil and commercial markets. Vulcan continues the legacy of Atlas as the world’s only high-energy architecture rocket.”
“The successful development and flight of this evolutionary rocket is a true testament to the unrivaled dedication and ingenuity of our workforce,” said Mark Peller, vice president of Vulcan Development. “Vulcan’s purpose-built design leverages the best of what we’ve learned from more than 120 combined years of launch experience with Atlas and Delta, ultimately advancing our nation’s space capability and providing unprecedented mission flexibility.”
The first certification flight (Cert-1) mission included two payloads: Astrobotic's first Peregrine Lunar Lander, Peregrine Mission One (PM1), as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface, and the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights deep space Voyager mission, the Enterprise Flight.
The Cert-1 mission served as the first of two certification flights required for the U.S. Space Force’s certification process. The second certification mission (Cert-2) is planned to launch in the coming months, followed by a summer launch of the first Vulcan mission to support national security space.
“As we build on today’s successful launch, the team will continue to work towards our future bi-weekly launch rate to meet our customers’ manifest requirements, while continuing to develop future Vulcan upgrades including SMART reuse plans for downrange, non-propulsive recovery of Vulcan engines,” said Bruno.
ULA has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches to date, including 38 missions for Amazon’s Project Kuiper and multiple national security space launch missions as part of the country’s Phase 2 launch procurement.
But one payload being carried on the mission drew criticism from the Navajo Nation. In a Dec. 21 letter Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and Transportation Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs Arlando Teller, the President expressed what he called “our deep concern and profound disappointment regarding a matter of utmost importance.”
He wrote that the Navajo Nation was recently made aware of the planned Jan. 8, 2024, launch of the Vulcan Centaur carrying the Peregrine Mission One by Astrobotic Technology. Among 28 payloads, he said, are some by “Celestis and Elysium Space, companies known for providing memorial services by shipping human cremated remains.”
In his letter, President Nygren asked that the launch be delayed and immediate consultation take place.
“We believe that both NASA and the USDOT should have engaged in consultation with us before agreeing to contract with a company that transports human remains to the Moon or authorizing a launch carrying such payloads,” he wrote.
He said this situation “echoes back to the late 1990s, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent the Lunar Prospector, carrying the remains of (former astronaut) Eugene Shoemaker, to the Moon.”
“At the time, Navajo Nation President Albert Hale voiced our objections regarding this action. In response, NASA issued a formal apology and promised consultation with tribes before authorizing any further missions carrying human remains to the Moon,” President Nygren wrote.
Yet, from the information the Navajo Nation has received, NASA is not upholding its commitment, he said.
In January 1998, the late President Hale said he was appalled to learn that human remains were being sent to the moon. “The moon is revered, and it regulates life cycles, according to Navajo traditions and stories,” President Hale said. “To send something like that over there is sacrilege.”
The late President Hale said such an action to place human remains on the moon was gross insensitivity to the beliefs of many Native Americans.
President Nygren wrote that it appeared the Office of Commercial Space, under the U.S. Department of Transportation, failed to engage in consultation with tribes prior to issuing the payload certificate for this launch.
NASA said in a pre-launch briefing on January 4 that the Peregrine mission is a private commercial effort over which the agency has no control. We don't have the framework for telling them what they can and can't fly," said Chris Culbert, Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The approval process doesn't run through NASA for commercial missions."