Vulcan's maiden launch is scheduled for 2:18 a.m. ET (07:18 GMT) on Monday. Vulcan's debut mission will send a privately-built 1283 kg Peregrine lander by space robotics firm Astrobotic to the Gruithuisen Domes on the moon. Unlike its competitor Falcon 9, the first stage will crash into the Atlantic ocean after stage separation.
Photo credit: ULA
After years long development efforts from ULA's to replace its current Atlas V rocket which had Russian imported engines and drew criticism from lawmakers that led to its eventual retirement.
This launch will also serve as the first of two certification flights required by the U.S. Space Force before Vulcan can fly defence satellites.
A successful launch at Cape Canaveral next week will allow ULA to fulfil a deep backlog of missions worth 100s of millions of dollars and establish a competitive footing with the rival Elon Musk's SpaceX.
"It's a very nervous time for them," said George Sowers, ULA's former chief scientist, who was key to Vulcan's creation. "It's really the future of their company."
The debut mission is a long-awaited milestone after months of various delays in the final stretch of Vulcan's development, and following a testing mishap last year with a Vulcan upper-stage booster. ULA CEO Tory Bruno has said Vulcan has performed well during recent ground tests.
The retirement of Atlas, plus Vulcan's other rocket, Delta will leave the 200-foot (60-m) tall Vulcan to handle dozens of lucrative missions and serve as the company's sole challenger to SpaceX's reusable workhorse Falcon 9.
Priced lower than its predecessors at roughly $110 million per launch, Vulcan will seek to reclaim market share from Falcon 9, which is priced at roughly $62 million per launch. SpaceX's cheaper flights have eroded ULA's dominance of government satellite launches in the past decade.
Vulcan will also compete with Blue Origin's upcoming New Glenn rocket, which uses the same engines as Vulcan.
By Azhar.
Photos credit: John Haword
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