If you’re not well versed with space engineering, you might be picturing Spock with a horse’s lower body. Of course, you would be way off. Because in reality, the Vulcan Centaur is a next-generation methane-fueled rocket being developed by the United Launch Alliance - and it’s got a pretty important job.

For its first launch, Vulcan will be carrying a payload trio to variable orbits, with one headed to the moon. Measuring 202 feet tall and weighing 1.2 million pounds, the Vulcan Centaur is the space workhorse of the future, delivering the highest value launch service at a lower cost and replacing both ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, which have been operational for over 20 years.