3 first phase boosters connected, SpaceX ready to launch Falcon Heavy Rockets

FLORIDA – SpaceX has connected three boosters of the first stage of the Falcon Heavy rocket and is ready for take-off from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center NASA . The most powerful rocket in the world is preparing for its first launch in more than three years.

SpaceX posted a photo of the milestone on Twitter on Sunday, October 23, 2022, showing three boosters positioned horizontally. I saw 27 combined Merlin engines arranged to produce about 5 million pounds of takeoff thrust.

Together, the 27 Merlin engines are unrivaled among today’s rockets. “Falcon Heavy in the hangar of Launch Complex 39A”, wrote SpaceX via his Twitter account providing a photo caption quoted by SINDOnews from the Space.com page, Tuesday (25/10/2022)

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The three boosters are first-stage modifications of the Falcon 9, SpaceX’s work rocket. Falcon Heavy tied them together and placed the second stage of the payload carrier on top of the central booster.

“The Falcon Heavy is the world’s most powerful operational rocket by a factor of two. With the ability to lift nearly 64 tons into orbit, Falcon Heavy can lift more than double the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy (United Launch Alliance), “wrote SpaceX.

Falcon Heavy’s current assignment on Pad 39A supports USSF-44, the mission that will launch two top-secret satellites into a distant geostationary orbit for the US Space Force. The launch date has not been officially announced, although various sources identify it around October 31, 2022.

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The early stages of Falcon Heavy, such as the Falcon 9, were designed to be reusable. But only two of the USSF-44’s three boosters will return to Earth for a safe landing. The central core will be unloaded, falling into the sea at the end of the launching works.

The USSF-44 will be the first Falcon Heavy launch since June 2019 and only the fourth ever for the robust rocket. Its debut in February 2018 was one of the most memorable launches ever. The test flight sent Elon Musk’s Tesla roadster, in a space-clad dummy called Starman, orbiting the sun.

(Spider web)