From Dow Jones & Company:

United Launch Alliance launched its new Vulcan rocket, carrying the first commercial lunar lander and a mission carrying cremated human remains. The CERT-1 flight test marks a milestone for ULA, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. The Vulcan rocket lifted off from Florida at 2:19 am ET and transported the lunar lander into orbit more than 220,000 miles above Earth. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, expected to land on the moon on Feb. 23, 2024. The rocket is also carrying a payload from Celestis Memorial Spaceflights into deep space, with Star Trek icons’ cremated remains and DNA from George Washington, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The BE-4 engines used in Vulcan boast several benefits over competitors, allowing the rocket to eliminate complex pressurization systems compared to rockets using kerosene, and the new ULA rocket is powerful enough to include up to six solid rocket boosters.

The successful launch of the Vulcan rocket by United Launch Alliance has marked a significant milestone in space travel. This rocket, the successor to ULA’s previous Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, is transporting the first commercial lunar lander on its journey to the moon’s surface. The rocket also carried human remains and DNA samples into deep space. The Peregrine lunar lander, expected to land on the moon on Feb. 23, 2024, is carrying NASA scientific instruments to study the lunar surface. The Vulcan’s BE-4 engines, provided by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, utilize liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas, eliminating the need for expensive and complex pressurization systems. Despite previous delays in launching the rocket, the successful mission marks a new era in space exploration.



Read more: Boeing and Lockheed’s ULA launches first Vulcan rocket, private moon lander