This is a list of launches made by the Vulcan Centaur rocket, first launched January 8, 2024.
Main article: Peregrine Mission One |
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.
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] |
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. |
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. |
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. |