SpaceX is preparing to launch a program Very heavy lift rocket For the second time this year, it is carrying a large-scale satellite into orbit far above the equator, as well as a pair of smaller satellites, before ditching it completely.
The Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch Thursday during a 57-minute launch period that opens at 7:29 p.m. ET. The rocket will take off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. You can watch the heavy missile launch through it SpaceX website Or by adjusting the feed below. The live feed is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before take-off.
SpaceX packed its heavy rocket with three satellites. The primary payload is a 14,000-pound (6,400-kilogram) large-scale satellite known as ViaSat-3 Americas. The Falcon Heavy will be used to bring the satellite into a geostationary orbit, which is a circular orbit more than 20,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth.
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The satellite would be placed directly into its distant orbit, which meant that the rocket’s boosters would have to expire by falling back into the Atlantic Ocean; They wouldn’t have enough fuel to allow them to land vertically on a drone ship. This will be the first time that SpaceX has intentionally eliminated its three Falcon Heavy boosters. according to SpaceflightNow. Two of the side boosters were launched on previous missions and are being reused for Thursday’s launch.
The Falcon Heavy will also carry two other satellites: Astranis’ first MicroGEO satellite and Gravity Space’s GS-1 satellite. The two are also heading into geostationary orbit.
the giant Falcon Heavy missile It consists of three reusable Falcon 9 first stages strapped together, and is 230 feet (70 m) high. SpaceX’s partially reusable rocket contains two reusable side boosters, a reusable center core, an expendable second stage, and a pair of reusable halves. The rocket has made a total of five launches to date, with its first blasting off in 2018.
The Falcon Heavy is a more powerful version of the Falcon 9, SpaceX’s rocket that has launched more than 200 times since its debut in 2010. However, the heavy lift rocket may soon have been upgraded by the Starship rocket. The huge one I took off for the first time on 20 April for its inaugural test flight, but had to be destroyed by falling into a tumble.
Want to know more about Elon Musk’s space project? Check out our full coverage of Giant Starship vehicle from SpaceX and the SpaceX Starlink mega satellite internet. And for more space trips in your life, stay tuned Twitter and custom bookmarking for Gizmodo Spaceflight page.
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