ULA planned to launch Peregrine on Christmas Eve in 2023 but postponed it due to problems with ground systems during a fueling test.
United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket is scheduled to launch Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander from Cape Canaveral on January 8, 2024.
Cert-1 will deliver the Astrobotic Peregrine commercial lunar lander into a highly elliptical orbit more than 220,0 m (360,0 m) above Earth to intercept the Moon.
Peregrine carries a shoebox-sized, 2 kg (4.4-pound) rover called Iris that was built by Carnegie Mellon students to take geological images.
Cert-1 will deliver the Astrobotic Peregrine commercial lunar lander into a highly elliptical orbit more than 220,0 m (360,0 m) above Earth to intercept the Moon.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander completed all integration milestones and was mated with United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket payload adapter on 2023-11-16.
Astrobotic scheduled the Peregrine spacecraft to launch to the Moon on 2024-01-08.
The Peregrine lander carries a shoebox-sized, 2 kg (4.4-pound) rover named Iris built by Carnegie Mellon University students to take geological images.
About 40 minutes after separation from ULA’s Vulcan rocket, Peregrine’s propulsion system will activate and begin receiving commands from Astrobotic’s Mission Control Center.
Peregrine is slated to be the first private American spacecraft launched under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to deliver experiments to the lunar surface.
About 40 minutes after separation from ULA’s Vulcan rocket, Peregrine’s propulsion system will activate and begin receiving commands from Astrobotic’s Mission Control Center.
Both Astrobotic’s Peregrine and Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 are carrying commercial payloads and payloads provided by NASA through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program under awards made in 2019.
Peregrine is carrying 20 commercial and government payloads, including five provided by NASA as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
A launch in the window that opens 2023-01-08 would set up Peregrine for a landing on 2023-02-23.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander completed all its pre-launch integration activities, including fueling and mating with the payload adapter for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, by 2023-12-19.
On 2023-12-14, United Launch Alliance completed the wet dress rehearsal and confirmed a 2023-01-08 launch date for Peregrine.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander completed all integration milestones and was mated with United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket payload adapter on 2023-11-16.
Cert-1 will deliver the Astrobotic Peregrine lander into a highly elliptical orbit more than 220,0 m (360,0 m) above Earth to intercept the Moon.
Cert-1 will carry Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, Peregrine Mission One (PM1), as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface.
The primary payload for the Vulcan Centaur’s planned 2023-12-24 launch is the Peregrine lunar lander built by Astrobotic.