The first flight of the new Vulcan rocket of the United States United launch Alliance has been postponed to January 8 next year.

CTOnews.com The United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense Space Safety, was formed in December 2006 to integrate the two companies 'teams responsible for U.S. federal government launch services. Lockheed and Boeing hope that this merger will reduce costs and monopolize satellite launch contracts.

The first certification mission (Cert-1) of ULA's latest Vulcan launch vehicle was scheduled for December 24, 2023, but ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said today that several (routine) problems with the ground system were found during the rocket refueling test (correction is in progress), so the Christmas Eve launch may be delayed, and the next window is January 8, 2024.

This X post was also forwarded by ULA's official account, further confirming the postponement.

CTOnews.com previously reported that the first stage of the Vulcan rocket was installed on the SLC-41 launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 26, and two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters (the main engine is the Blue Origin BE-4 engine) were installed on the side on October 31 and November 6, providing nearly 2 million pounds (8.9 kN) of thrust.

The Cert-1 mission consists of two payloads, including the Peregrine lunar lander developed by NASA for future missions by Astrobotic and the ashes of Celestis Memorial Spaceflight customers, a company that provides commercial sacrifice services.

Peregrine Lunar Lander, Peregrine Mission One (PM1), is part of Astrobotic's scientific and technical contribution to NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) program.

In fact, the first launch of the rocket was originally scheduled for 2019, but has been postponed several times. The company notes that the payload launch capability of the new launch vehicle covers low Earth orbit to Pluto and beyond, and is more economical than its predecessor.