First US Lunar Lander in More Than 50 Years Rockets Toward Moon With Commercial Deliveries

United Launch Alliance launches its next-generation Vulcan rocket on its maiden flight from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Fla., at 2:18 a.m. EST on Jan. 8, 2024. Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed toward the moon Monday, launching private companies on a space race to make deliveries for NASA and other customers.

Astrobotic Technology’s lander caught a ride on a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. The Vulcan streaked through the Florida predawn sky, putting the spacecraft on a roundabout route to the moon that should culminate with an attempted landing on Feb. 23.