United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket stands ready for a 2:18 a.m. EST liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 41. Watch now on NASA+, NASA TV or the agency’s website.
Onboard Vulcan is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, which is carrying NASA scientific instruments and other commercial payloads to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program. The payloads onboard the lander aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to explore the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are predicting a 85% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, with the primary weather concerns revolving around thick cloud coverage.
Here’s a look at the ascent milestones following liftoff. All times are approximate:
LAUNCH, SEPARATION, AND POWER ON
Hr/Min/Sec Event
00:00:00 Vulcan liftoff
00:01:16 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:01:50 Solid rocket booster jettison
00:04:59 Booster Engine Cutoff (BECO)
00:05:05 Booster/Centaur separation
00:05:15 Centaur main engine start (MES-1)
00:05:23 Payload fairing jettison
00:15:45 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO-1)
00:43:35 2nd stage engine starts (MES-2)
00:47:37 2nd stage engine cutoff (MECO-2)
00:50:26 Peregrine separates from Vulcan
00:58:27 Peregrine powers on
01:18:23 Centaur third main engine start (MES-3)
01:18:43 Centaur third main engine cutoff (MECO-3)