United Launch Alliance Delays Vulcan Debut Flight to Early May
- Replacement for vehicle with Russian engine faces slight delay
- ULA is Boeing, Lockheed joint venture that works with Pentagon
This article is for subscribers only.
Space-launch company United Launch Alliance delayed the debut flight of its next-generation rocket, Vulcan, by at least a month to early May.
Vulcan will be ready by mid-April but the mission’s main payload, a lunar lander built by Astrobotic Technology, can only launch within short, specific time windows each month, the company said in a press conference Thursday. That means the earliest opportunity will arise on May 4. ULA had previously targeted late March.