Canaveral rocket set to launch lunar lander — and 'Star Trek' legends' remains — to the moon
The debut flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur V — known as Certification-1 — has been scheduled for Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.
The Vulcan was supposed to launch in May but was delayed after a Centaur upper stage exploded during testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on March 29.
The Dec. 24 launch will be the first of two missions required to demonstrate the rocket’s performance for high-priority National Space Security Launch spacecraft.
The payloads that will be carried by the Vulcan Centaur are arriving in Cape Canaveral ahead of the scheduled launch.
One notable cargo item — a privately owned lunar lander — arrived in Florida on Oct. 30. That lander will carry the cremated remains of the original "Star Trek" series creator Gene Rodenberry and those of cast member Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed the character Nyota Uhura, among others.
