ULA Vulcan Centaur and SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches delayed
Vulcan Centaur V launch delayed
Two hotly anticipated launches planned for late 2023 — Vulcan Centaur V and SpaceX Falcon Heavy — have been delayed.
The debut flight of Vulcan Centaur V was scheduled for Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. United Launch Alliance announced in a Dec. 14 news release that while it conducted a “successful wet dress rehearsal,” the launch of the first Vulcan flight test and certification mission now is planned for Jan. 8, 2024, pending range approval, meaning there are no conflicting flight paths. A wet dress rehearsal is the last major test for a spacecraft before it's officially ready for flight.
If all goes as planned, Vulcan will launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying the first Peregrine lunar lander mission, ashes and DNA aboard the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights mission.
DNA from Presidents Washington, Eisenhower and Kennedy will fly. A donor bought their hair samples from the late Louis Mushro, the globally recognized broker of historical celebrity hair samples, and donated them to Celestis together with the provenance of each sample.
