ULA rolls Vulcan Centaur rocket to pad forward of 2nd-ever launch (photographs)

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) second Vulcan Centaur rocket has made it to the pad.

ULA rolled the Vulcan Centaur out to Area Launch Advanced-41 (SLC-41) at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station at the moment (Sept. 30) to gear up for the automobile’s second-ever launch, which is scheduled for no sooner than Friday (Oct. 4).

A part of that prep work is a key fueling take a look at often called a moist costume rehearsal (WDR), throughout which the rocket might be “loaded with 1,000,000 kilos of cryogenic propellants at Area Launch Advanced-41 and put by way of a whole countdown process,” ULA stated through X at the moment.

ULA preps for the rollout of its second Vulcan Centaur rocket at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station on Sept. 30, 2024. (Picture credit score: ULA)

If all goes properly with the WDR and different checkouts, Vulcan Centaur will launch from SLC-41 on Friday throughout a three-hour window that opens at 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT).

That liftoff will kick off Cert-2, the second of two take a look at flights wanted to certify the brand new rocket to be used by the U.S. Area Pressure. The primary such mission occurred in January, when Vulcan Centaur efficiently lofted Astrobotic Know-how’s Peregrine moon lander to Earth orbit.

Associated: ULA’s Vulcan rocket launches personal US moon lander, 1st since Apollo, and human stays in debut flight

Peregrine did not find yourself making it to the moon, nevertheless: It suffered a propellant leak shortly after deploying from the rocket’s Centaur V higher stage and ended up returning to Earth to deplete in our environment.

No operational spacecraft will go up on Cert-2. The mission “contains an inert payload and demonstrations related to future Centaur V applied sciences,” ULA wrote in a mission description.

a white and red rocket stands on a launch pad under blue skies

ULA’s second Vulcan Centaur rocket stands at Area Launch Advanced-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station on Sept. 30, 2024. (Picture credit score: ULA)

That is a change from the unique plan: Cert-2 was imagined to launch Sierra Area’s robotic Dream Chaser area airplane on its first-ever orbital flight. However Sierra Area wanted extra time to prep Dream Chaser for its debut, which is able to nonetheless make use of the Vulcan Centaur.

“We’re working with Sierra Area to place the Dream Chaser again onto the manifest when they’re able to go,” ULA CEO Tory Bruno instructed reporters this previous June, when the corporate introduced the Cert-2 shift. “We waited so long as potential on Dream Chaser,” he added, “as a result of we actually wished to fly them.”