Carrying the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry on board, United Launch Alliance launched its next-generation Vulcan rocket this morning, ushering in a new era of space capabilities.

Vulcan, built in Decatur, launched from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:18 a.m. CST, ULA announced. Vulcan offers industry-leading capabilities to deliver any payload to any orbit at any time, the company said.

“Vulcan's first launch will usher in new and innovative capabilities to meet the ever-increasing requirements of space launches,” said Tory Bruno, ULA President and CEO. “Vulcan continues to deliver superior reliability and orbital accuracy to all customers in the national security, civilian and commercial markets, while offering high performance and affordability.

“Vulcan continues the Atlas tradition as the world's only high-energy structural rocket.”

ULA said Vulcan leverages the world's highest performance upper stage to deliver on ULA's industry-leading tradition of reliability and precision. Centaur V's unparalleled flexibility and extreme durability enable the most complex orbital insertions within the most difficult and secret orbits.

RELATED: ULA expands to Decatur with $300 million investment: 'We're staying in Alabama'

“The development and successful flight of this advanced rocket is a true testament to the unparalleled dedication and ingenuity of our employees,” said Mark Peller, Vulcan vice president of development. “Vulcan's purpose-built design leverages the best of what we learned from more than 120 years of combined Atlas and Delta launch experience, ultimately increasing our nation's space capabilities and providing unprecedented mission flexibility. Offers.”

The first certification flight mission included two payloads, ULA said. astrobotics The first Peregrine lunar lander, Peregrine Mission 1, was part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface, as well as the Celestis Memorial Space Flight's Deep Space Voyager mission; enterprise flight.

The Celestis mission contains the remains of Roddenberry, his wife Majella, some of the cast and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, the company announced in a news release.

contains hair DNA sample George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy are also expected to be on the flight, the company said.

The Cert-1 mission served as the first of two certification flights required for the Space Force certification process. A second certification mission is expected to launch in the coming months, followed by the first Vulcan mission in support of the national security sector in the summer.

“Based on today's successful launch, the team continues to work towards a future biweekly launch pace to meet customer manifest requirements, as well as develop a SMART reuse plan for downrange non-propulsive recovery. We will continue to develop future Vulcan upgrades including the “Vulcan engine,'' Bruno said.

ULA has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches to date, including 38 missions for Amazon's Project Kuiper and multiple national security space launches as part of the country's Phase 2 launch procurement. Also includes missions.

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) congratulated another successful launch and the North Alabama assets that made it possible.

Congratulations on the successful launch of ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket! ULA is known for 100% mission success. And Vulcan officially joins club #159. #Made in Alabama https://t.co/efgJEiCF86

— Dale W. Strong (@RepDaleStrong) January 8, 2024