Private company targets May launch for spaceship carrying Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols ashes

nypost.com:

United Launch Alliance recently announced it’s targeting May for the inaugural launch of its highly anticipated Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is expected to carry everything from satellites to human ashes into space.The Vulcan Centaur rocket has faced years of delays following the slower-than-anticipated development of powerful engines and requirements for when the moon lander can be launched.Under an updated timetable released by ULA CEO Tory Bruno, the more than 200-foot-tall rocket will take off on May 4, 2023, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.If the launch is successful, the company plans to eventually replace the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets with the Vulcan Centaur.The rocket is said to be capable of launching 60,000 pounds of payload into low-Earth orbit and could one day be certified to carry highly sensitive satellites for U.S.

intelligence agencies.Here’s a look at the payload that will be aboard the uncrewed launch.The Peregrine Lunar Lander will carry scientific and other payloads to the surface of the moon.Astrobotic Technology said it will be the first commercial mission to land on another planetary body.NASA said the Peregrine Mission 1 will study the moon’s exosphere, thermal properties, magnetic fields and radiation.Mementos and payloads from six countries are expected to be aboard the craft when it departs the Vulcan Centaur rocket after reaching its designated orbit.Project Kuiper, Amazon’s proposed broadband program, will have two prototype satellites aboard the Vulcan Centaur rocket.Amazon said the goal of the constellation will be to deliver fast, affordable internet to underserved communities around the world.Once complete, the constellation is expected to have more than 3,200.