SpaceX to showcase world’s largest rocket with launch of Falcon Heavy on Tuesday
Watch the broadcast of today's historic launch here. The broadcast will begin minutes before liftoff.
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People from around the world will gather near Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 6 to witness the maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy, a new rocket built by SpaceX.
The rocket is set to take flight on Tuesday, Feb. 6 from Launchpad 39A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the same launchpad used by the Space Shuttle and the Saturn V rocket.
The Falcon Heavy on the launch pad several weeks before launch. (Photo/SpaceX)
The Falcon Heavy will be the world’s most powerful rocket currently in use, being comprised of three of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets strapped together. Its 27 engines can loft 119,000 pounds into orbit, only bested by the Saturn V rocket that sent humans to the moon and had the capability of sending 310,000 pounds to orbit.
Weather is looking favorable for Tuesday’s launch with the 45th Weather Squadron expecting a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather conditions for liftoff.
Surface winds are forecast to be between 7 and 14 mph, which is well below the maximum winds acceptable for the launch of a SpaceX rocket. However, high level wind sheer may lead to some disruptions. Some clouds are also expected to move in during the afternoon.
If Tuesday’s launch is scrubbed, the next opportunity to launch will be on Wednesday afternoon with the 45th Weather Squadron forecasting a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather.
Not only will be people be anxious to watch the historic launch, but also what will occur several minutes later.
SpaceX has become known for recovering the first stage of their Falcon 9 rockets by having them land back on Earth.
All three of the Falcon Heavy’s first stage boosters will attempt to land back on Earth, two on land and one at sea.
The two side boosters will be the first to attempt to land, breaking off from the launch vehicle moments into the mission, flying back to the Florida coast and landing just a few miles away from where they first took to the sky.
People in attendance may hear the sonic booms of the rockets as they approach land and may even see them in the distance when they come in for their landing.
Several minutes later, the middle booster will attempt to land on a boat floating in the Atlantic Ocean, a feat that once sounded impossible that SpaceX has since accomplished.
Being able to recover and reuse rockets in this fashion is helping SpaceX reduce the cost of launching objects, such as satellites and spacecraft, into space.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 landing at Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 3, 2017. A similar sight is expected after launch of the Falcon Heavy but with two boosters returning to Florida. (Video/SpaceX)
The first launch of the Falcon Heavy will carry a unique test payload, a red Telsa Roadster once owned by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
"[The] payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. [The] destination is Mars orbit. [It] will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent," Musk said on Twitter.
Musk's Tesla Roadster before being enclosed and placed atop the first Falcon Heavy rocket. (Photo/SpaceX/Elon Musk)
Musk's personal car will serve as a test payload so that SpaceX can see how the new rocket performs without putting a customer's satellite at risk in case the maiden launch is not a success.
If everything goes off without a hitch, SpaceX plans to use the Falcon Heavy again later this year as a fully operational rocket for customers.
Watch the broadcast of Tuesday's historic launch here. The broadcast will begin minutes before liftoff.
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