SpaceX will launch ‘the world’s most powerful rocket’ next week, according to the firm’s CEO Elon Musk.
The Falcon Heavy ‘megarocket’ will fire beyond Earth’s orbit from the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida, with Musk’s own electric car on board.
The February 6 test will mark the first time the firm has flown its new, high-capacity rocket, which will allow SpaceX to send nearly far more payload into orbit than the average launch .
Powered by 27 engines, the rocket features three re-usable cores that will return to Earth after the craft reaches orbit in a flight that is set to be SpaceX’s most technically complex challenge to date.
Once the three cores separate, the rocket’s main module – carrying Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster – will continue its trajectory with a destination set for the orbit of Mars 140 million miles (225 million kilometres) away.
Elon Musk has announced SpaceX will launch ‘the world’s most powerful rocket’ on February 6 with his own electric car on board. The Falcon Heavy ‘megarocket’ will fire beyond orbit from the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Pictured is the Falcon Heavy ready for launch on the launchpad 39A at the centre
Musk, who is also CEO of electric car firm Tesla, tweeted the new target launch date on Saturday following months of delays, adding that a nearby causeway will provide the public with clear views of the flight.
The rocket will fire from launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre, which was used by Nasa to launch its historic Apollo 11 moon mission.
‘Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on Feb 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway,’ Musk wrote on Twitter.
SpaceX had previously said it planned to launch the Falcon Heavy a week after the rocket’s first successful static test fire, which took place on January 24 after it was delayed by last week’s US government shutdown.
The test marked the first time the huge rocket roared to life, with all 27 of its Merlin engines fired up simultaneously at launchpad 39A.
As well as creating huge, billowing clouds of white smoke, the test fired off monstrous booms that could be heard up to three miles away.
Elon Musk, who is also CEO of electric car firm Tesla, tweeted the new target launch date on Saturday following months of delays, adding that a nearby causeway will provide the public with clear views of the flight
On January 24, SpaceX completed a long-awaited static fire test of its Falcon Heavy megarocket (pictured). Musk’s rocket company performed the test at Kennedy Space Centre’s launch pad 39A. The test had been delayed for several months
WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING SPACEX’S FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH?
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon Heavy will lift off and enter Earth’s orbit on February 6 from from launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The rocket will use 27 engines and three separate re-usable cores in what is set to be one of the firm’s most technically complex challenges to date.
Once the Falcon Heavy enters space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft’s booster rockets will separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings.
The rocket will use 27 engines and three separate re-usable cores in what is set to be one of the firm’s most technically complex challenges to date. This image shows an artist’s impression of the rocket’s engine and core layout as viewed from below
The rocket’s central core will then detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm’s ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
The main module will continue its trajectory into deep space, with a destination set for the orbit of Mars 140 million miles (225 million kilometres) away.
According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk: ‘Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.’
Musk has said his original cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster will be strapped into the main module, playing David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ from its speakers.
‘Falcon Heavy hold-down firing this morning was good. Generated quite a thunderhead of steam. Launching in a week or so,’ Musk tweeted on January 24.
Last week’s static test marked the first time the rocket roared to life, with all 27 of its engines fired up simultaneously. Musk said it created a ‘thunderhead’ of steam
SpaceX has called the Falcon Heavy the ‘most powerful rocket in operation,’ with over 5 million pounds of thrust and the ability to lift more than 140,000 pounds of cargo.
If all goes according to plan on February 6, the Falcon Heavy will lift off and enter Earth’s orbit, at which point two of the craft’s booster rockets will separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings.
The 70-metre- (230-foot) long rocket’s central core will then detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm’s ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
The main module will continue its trajectory into ‘deep space’, the billionaire has said, with a destination set for the orbit of Mars 140 million miles (225 million kilometres) away.
Musk has said the huge launch vehicle will blast off next week on an unmanned mission with a unique payload – the billionaire’s cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster, which will be fired toward Mars. Pictured is the car strapped into the Falcon Heavy’s main module
HOW DOES THE FALCON HEAVY MEASURE UP?
Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet)
Stages: Two
Boosters: Two
Re-usable Cores: Three
Engines: 27
Payload to Low Earth Orbit: 63,800kg (140,660 lb)
Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb)
Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft)
Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb)
Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds)
When it launches, the Falcon Heavy (left) will be the world’s most powerful rocket, capable of carrying payloads far greater than even the Apollo 11 space shuttle (second from left)
According to Musk: ‘Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.’
Musk has said his original cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster will be strapped into the main module, playing David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ from its speakers.
The launch will follow months of delays and build-up to the historic flight, with Musk frequently posting updates to his various social media profiles.
On January 5, the billionaire wrote on Instagram: ‘Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad.
‘At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.
‘Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.’
The 46-year-old South African, who co-founded PayPal with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, predicts the Falcon Heavy’s payload will stay in deep space for a while.
The rocket (pictured) will use 27 engines and three separate re-usable cores that will return to Earth after liftoff during the test flight, which is set to be one of the firm’s most technically complex challenges to date
A photo of its unusual cargo – Musk’s cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster – was released last month.
Images released by SpaceX show an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appears to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket makes its maiden flight.
‘Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,’ Musk said in December.
‘Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel.
‘The payload will be an original Tesla Roadster, playing Space Oddity, on a billion year elliptic Mars orbit.’
The mission marks SpaceX’s most ambitious project to date.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.
In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.
‘There’s a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,’ he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.
SpaceX had previously said it planned to launch the Falcon Heavy a week after the rocket’s first successful static test fire, which took place on January 24 after it was delayed by last week’s US government shutdown. This image shows the rocket without its main module, with its 27 engines pictured in the foreground
‘Real good chance that the vehicle doesn’t make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.’
Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.
Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stoof next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle’s scale.
He tweeted: ‘Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.
‘It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.
In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken. Pictured is the rocket in a warehouse last year before it was erected at the Kennedy Space Centre earlier this month
‘I love that rocket so much.’
He also confirmed the rocket will have a ‘max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,’ adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.
‘Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.
‘Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,’ Musk originally posted.