Vulcan: The American private rocket launched to the moon

Her launch of Vulcan – of the first private American rocket – many foreign media broadcast live as he set off on a historic mission: The rocket will attempt to land on the surface of the Moonhalf a century after the Apollo programs ended.

Vulcan was built by the United Launch Alliance (ULA)Boeing and Lockheed and successfully launched to the Space at 9:18 a.m. on Monday, Greek time, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The first US commercial robotic launch to the Moon successfully lifted off Jan. 8 on the first flight of @ULALaunch‘s #VulcanRocket. @Astrobotic‘s Peregrine Mission 1 lander is expected to reach the lunar surface in February: https://t.co/csvx73ZqgP pic.twitter.com/N7Mxiqi8GC

— NASA (@NASA) January 8, 2024

Mission of the rocket to successfully land the robotic craft Peregrinewhich ia collect data on the surface of the Moon before new crewed missions are launched.

If it lands safely – on February 23 on schedule – Peregrine will mark the first normal landing since the final landing of the Apollo series on 1972.

🎶 Fly me to the Moon 🎶@NASA science lifted off on a @ulalaunch Vulcan rocket at 2:18am ET with @Astrobotic‘s Peregrine lander from Launch Complex 41 in Florida as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and @NASAArtemis program. Peregrine is… pic.twitter.com/8TvULAN8t7

— NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) January 8, 2024

Also, Vulcan will be the first private American rocket, which will land on the surface of the Moon, a feat that has proved elusive in recent years.

The launch was a critical first for the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Vulcan spent about a decade in development to replace ULA’s Atlas V rocket and to compete with the reusable Falcon 9 from Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the satellite launch market.