Spacex Falcon Heavy will fly again in 2019.
While all of the limelight has been squarely fixed on SpaceX's still under-construction
Starship rocket, Elon Musk's aerospace company has also been readying its most powerful operational
launch vessel, for its first commercial mission.
Following the temporary reprieve in the U.S. government shutdown, SpaceX has applied for
two Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses it needs for its next Falcon Heavy
flight – revealing a tentative second launch date for the world's biggest modern rocket.
In the filing on Monday January 28, SpaceX says it is aiming for no earlier than Thursday
March 7, 2019, for the launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
It should be noted this is very much subject to change, and the launch could well come
later.
SpaceX has already been busy transporting the boosters for this launch from Texas to
Florida.
Once all have arrived, the rocket will be assembled before a static fire test, and then,
ultimately, the launch will take place.
In this video, Engineering Today will discuss about SpaceX's next Falcon Heavy launch from
Kennedy Space Center, which could be as soon as March.
Why this Spacex Falcon Heavy mission could be its chance for redemption of last fault?
So let's get started.
The filing with the FCC also confirms what was previously suspected regarding the launch.
Both the side boosters will come back to land at Cape Canaveral.
If it's anything like last time, they will touch down at the same exact time like some
kind of synchronized rocket routine.
The center core, on the other hand, will attempt to land on SpaceX's Of Course I Still Love
You (OCISLY) autonomous drone ship off of the cost of Florida.
The herculean rocket is essentially made up of three rocket boosters strapped together,
that can generate up to 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
But the most exciting part of the launch might be when the parts descend back to earth, at
which point SpaceX will attempt to recover all three cores that make up Falcon Heavy's
first stage.
It's almost like if SpaceX were conducting three different Falcon 9 landings on the same
day.
The last and so far only Falcon Heavy launch on February 6, 2018, saw a similar arrangement
to land all three boosters.
While the side boosters were successful, touching down in a beautifully choreographed landing,
the central booster was not so lucky and crashed into the ocean.
Spacex Falcon Heavy center core missed SpaceX Of Course I Still Love You autonomous drone
ship, by about 300 feet, and crashed down in the Atlantic Ocean at about 300 miles per
hour, or 482 km per hour.
This Spacex Falcon Heavy mission could be its chance at redemption.
That first launch was purely experimental.
On board was CEO Elon Musk's own Tesla Roadster car, which was launched into an orbit that
took the car beyond the orbit of Mars.
Some bemoaned the lack of scientific instrumentson board though; despite Musk's claim that
inaugural rocket launches only flew test weights, many such launches – including the Ariane
5 in 1996 and Atlas V in 2002 – have carried useful payloads on their first flight.
Spacex Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V , which was responsible
for sending men to the moon.
At any rate, this next launch of the Spacex Falcon Heavy, will be the mega rocket's
first commercial launch, taking the Arabsat-6A spacecraft for Saudi Arabia to geostationary
orbit.
Weighing 6,000 kilograms or 13,000 pounds, this Saudi Arabian communications satellite
will provide, television and internet communications services to customers in the Middle East,
Africa and Europe.
Rumours suggest that, the boosters on this launch could be flown again weeks later on
a third Falcon Heavy flight.
SpaceX is apparently considering a rapid turnaround of the boosters, having them ready to launch
again in 60 days.
This will be for the launch of the United States Air Force's (USAF) Space Test Program
2 (STP-2), launching more than two dozen satellites for the US military.
Before we start seeing Falcon Heavy flying again, SpaceX has a couple of other launches
planned.
In February it will launch a lunar lander to the Moon for the Israeli company SpaceIL,
while we're also expecting to see the first test flight of its Crew Dragon vehicle – with
no crew on board – in late February.
Last year's Falcon Heavy flight attracted a huge global audience, with thousands of
people also heading to Cape Canaveral to watch the biggest rocket, since the Saturn V and
Space Shuttle take to the skies.
There will no doubt be considerable excitement again, so if you're planning to watch it
in person you might want to keep March 7 free for now.
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