SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. One of the company’s flagship launch vehicles is the Falcon Heavy, which is currently the most powerful operational rocket in the world. The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 rocket and is designed to carry heavy payloads and perform deep space missions. It consists of three Falcon 9 first-stage boosters, which are modified to serve as the side boosters, and a central core stage that is strengthened to handle the additional loads.
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Specifications in Short
| Height | Diameter | Mass |
|---|---|---|
| 70 meters (230 feet) | 12.2 meters (39.9 feet) | 1,420,788 kg (3,125,735 lbs) |
With a payload capacity of up to 63,800 kg (140,660 lbs) to low Earth orbit, the Falcon Heavy has the ability to launch large satellites, interplanetary missions, and even crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.
View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018
The rocket was created with the goal of transporting humans into space, potentially enabling missions with people to the Moon and Mars. During its first flight, it carried Elon Musk’s $100,000 cherry-red Tesla sports car, complete with a space-suited mannequin seated in the driver’s position. A soundtrack featuring David Bowie songs played continuously. Musk speculated that “it might be stumbled upon by a future alien civilization,” noting that the spacesuit was genuine. SpaceX plans to charge $90 million for its launch services using a Falcon Heavy rocket.
The launch occurred on February 6 as part of its test flight. The launch site was NASA’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same location used for the Apollo 11 Moon mission and numerous space shuttle launches. The launch faced several hours of delay due to high winds in the upper atmosphere. Shortly after liftoff, the two outer boosters successfully landed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Elon Musk reflected on the launch, sharing, “I had this vision of a massive explosion on the pad, with wheels bouncing down the road and the logo landing somewhere with a thud. Fortunately, that scenario didn’t happen; sometimes crazy things do come true.”
Musk asserts that Falcon Heavy is indeed the world’s most powerful rocket, surpassing even the Delta IV Heavy while costing only a third as much. Its lifting capacity exceeds that of any spacecraft since NASA’s Saturn V, which retired in 1973. SpaceX intends to use Falcon Heavy for launching two paying space tourists on a lunar orbit trip eventually. However, Musk hinted that he might reserve that mission for another launch system, the BFR.
Read more about the Falcon Heavy
Future of the Falcon Heavy
SpaceX has several future missions planned for the Falcon Heavy, including the launch of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program 2 mission, as well as the deployment of the Europa Clipper spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Falcon Heavy is also a leading contender for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft, which will serve as the upper stage of the Falcon Heavy and will be capable of carrying both cargo and crew to deep space destinations.
