Falcon Heavy
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Cost per launch | |
Size | |
Height | 70 m (230 ft)[3] |
Diameter | 3.66 m (12.0 ft) (each booster) |
Width | 12.2 m (40 ft) |
Mass | 1,420 t (3,130,000 lb) |
Stages | 2.5 |
Capacity | |
Payload to Mars transfer orbit | |
Mass | 16.8 t (37,000 lb)[3] |
Payload to Pluto | |
Mass | 3.5 t (7,700 lb)[3] |
Associated rockets | |
Based on | Falcon 9 |
Comparable | |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites |
|
Total launches | 9 |
Success(es) | 9 |
Landings |
|
First flight | 6 February 2018[4] |
Last flight | 29 December 2023 |
Boosters | |
No. boosters | 2 |
Powered by | 18 total, 9 Merlin 1D per booster[3] |
Maximum thrust |
|
Total thrust | Sea level: 15.2 MN; 3,400,000 lbf (1,550 tf)
Vacuum: 16.4 MN; 3,700,000 lbf (1,670 tf) |
Specific impulse | |
Burn time | 154.3 seconds |
Propellant | |
First stage | |
Powered by | 9 Merlin 1D[3] |
Maximum thrust |
|
Specific impulse |
|
Burn time | 187 seconds |
Propellant | Subcooled LOX / Chilled RP-1 |
Second stage | |
Powered by | 1 Merlin 1D Vacuum[3] |
Maximum thrust | 934 kN; 210,000 lbf (95.2 tf) |
Specific impulse | 348 s (3.41 km/s) |
Burn time | 397 seconds |
Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle[a] that can carry cargo into Earth orbit, and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.
The rocket consists of a center core on which two Falcon 9 boosters are attached, and a second stage on top of the center core.[8] Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit, trailing behind the SLS, Energia and the Saturn V.
SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy's maiden launch on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC.[4] As a dummy payload, the rocket carried a Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with a mannequin dubbed "Starman" in the driver's seat.[9] The second Falcon Heavy launch occurred on 11 April 2019, and all three booster rockets successfully returned to Earth.[10] The third Falcon Heavy launch successfully occurred on 25 June 2019. Since then, Falcon Heavy has been certified for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.[11]
Falcon Heavy was designed to be able to carry humans into space beyond low Earth orbit, although as of February 2018[update], SpaceX does not intend to transport people on Falcon Heavy, nor pursue the human-rating certification process to transport NASA astronauts.[12] Both Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 are expected to eventually be superseded by the Starship launch system, currently being developed.[13]
History
Concepts for a Falcon Heavy launch vehicle using three Falcon 1 core boosters, with an approximate payload-to-LEO capacity of two tons,[14] were initially discussed as early as 2003.[15] The concept for three core booster stages of the company's as-yet-unflown Falcon 9 was referred to in 2005 as the Falcon 9 Heavy.[16]
SpaceX unveiled the plan for the Falcon Heavy to the public at a Washington, D.C., news conference in April 2011, with an initial test flight expected in 2013.[17]
A number of factors delayed the planned maiden flight to 2018, including two anomalies with Falcon 9 launch vehicles, which required all engineering resources to be dedicated to failure analysis, halting flight operations for many months. The integration and structural challenges of combining three Falcon 9 cores were much more difficult than expected.[18]
In July 2017, Elon Musk said, "It actually ended up being way harder to do Falcon Heavy than we thought. ... We were pretty naive about that".[19]
The initial test flight for the first Falcon Heavy lifted off on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC, carrying its dummy payload, Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster, beyond Mars orbit.[4]
Conception and funding
Musk first mentioned Falcon Heavy in a September 2005 news update, referring to a customer request from 18 months prior.
Design and development
The Falcon Heavy design is based on Falcon 9's fuselage and engines. By 2008, SpaceX had been aiming for the first launch of Falcon 9 in 2009, while "Falcon 9 Heavy would be in a couple of years". Speaking at the 2008 Mars Society Conference, Musk also indicated that he expected a hydrogen-fueled upper stage would follow two to three years later (which would have been around 2013).[22]
By April 2011, the capabilities and performance of the Falcon 9 vehicle were better understood, SpaceX having completed two successful demonstration missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), one of which included reignition of the second-stage engine. At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on 5 April 2011, Musk stated that Falcon Heavy would "carry more payload to orbit or escape velocity than any vehicle in history, apart from the Saturn V Moon rocket ... and Soviet Energia rocket".[23] In the same year, with the expected increase in demand for both variants, SpaceX announced plans to expand manufacturing capacity "as we build towards the capability of producing a Falcon 9 first stage or Falcon Heavy side booster every week and an upper stage every two weeks".[23]
In 2015, SpaceX announced a number of changes to the Falcon Heavy rocket, worked in parallel to the upgrade of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle.[24] In December 2016, SpaceX released a photo showing the Falcon Heavy interstage at the company headquarters in Hawthorne, California.[25]
Testing
By May 2013, a new, partly underground test stand was being built at the
In July 2017, Musk discussed publicly the challenges of testing a complex launch vehicle like the three-core Falcon Heavy, indicating that a large extent of the new design "is really impossible to test on the ground" and could not be effectively tested independent of actual flight tests.[19]
By September 2017, all three first stage cores had completed their static fire tests on the ground test stand.[29] The first Falcon Heavy static fire test was conducted on 24 January 2018.[30]
Maiden flight
In April 2011, Musk was planning for a first launch of Falcon Heavy from
Due partly to the failure of SpaceX CRS-7 in June 2015, SpaceX rescheduled the maiden Falcon Heavy flight in September 2015 to occur no earlier than April 2016.[33] The flight was to be launched from the refurbished Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.[34][35] The flight was postponed again to late 2016, early 2017,[36] summer 2017,[37] late 2017[38] and finally to February 2018.[39]
At a July 2017 meeting of the International Space Station Research and Development meeting in Washington, D.C., Musk downplayed expectations for the success of the maiden flight:
There's a real good chance the vehicle won't make it to orbit ... I hope it makes it far enough away from the pad that it does not cause pad damage. I would consider even that a win, to be honest.[19]
In December 2017, Musk tweeted that the dummy payload on the maiden Falcon Heavy launch would be
On December 28, 2017, the Falcon Heavy was moved to the launch pad in preparation of a static fire test of all 27 engines, which was expected on 19 January 2018.[43] However, due to the U.S. government shutdown that began on 20 January 2018, the testing and launch were further delayed.[44] The static fire test was conducted on 24 January 2018.[30][45] Musk confirmed via Twitter that the test "was good" and later announced the rocket would be launched on 6 February 2018.[46]
On 6 February 2018, after a delay of over two hours due to high winds,[47] Falcon Heavy lifted off at 20:45 UTC.[4] Its side boosters landed safely on Landing Zones 1 and 2 a few minutes later.[48] However, only one of the three engines on the center booster that were intended to restart ignited during descent, causing the booster to be destroyed upon impacting the ocean at a speed of over 480 km/h (300 mph).[49][50]
Initially, Elon Musk tweeted that the Roadster had overshot its planned
Later flights
A year after the successful demo flight, SpaceX had signed five commercial contracts worth US$500–750 million, meaning that it had managed to cover the development cost of the rocket.[52] The second flight, and first commercial one, occurred on 11 April 2019,[53] launching Arabsat-6A, with all three boosters landing successfully for the first time.
The third flight occurred on 25 June 2019, launching the
Following the announcement of NASA's
Design
Falcon Heavy consists of a structurally strengthened Falcon 9 as the "core" component, with two additional
The first stage is powered by three Falcon 9 derived cores, each equipped with nine
All three cores of the Falcon Heavy arrange the engines in a structural form SpaceX calls Octaweb, aimed at streamlining the manufacturing process,
Rocket specifications
Characteristic | First stage core unit (1 × center, 2 × booster) |
Second stage | Payload fairing |
---|---|---|---|
Height[73] | 42.6 m (140 ft) | 12.6 m (41 ft) | 13.2 m (43 ft) |
Diameter[73] | 3.66 m (12.0 ft) | 3.66 m (12.0 ft) | 5.2 m (17 ft) |
Dry mass[73] | 22.2 t (49,000 lb) | 4 t (8,800 lb) | 1.7 t (3,700 lb) |
Fueled mass | 433.1 t (955,000 lb) | 111.5 t (246,000 lb) | — |
Structure type | LOX tank: stringer
|
LOX tank: monocoque Fuel tank: skin and stringer |
Monocoque halves |
Structure material | Aluminum–lithium skin; aluminum domes
|
Aluminum–lithium skin; aluminum domes | Carbon fiber
|
Engines | 9 × Merlin 1D
|
1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum
|
— |
Engine type | Liquid, gas generator | Liquid, gas generator | |
Propellant | Subcooled liquid oxygen, kerosene (RP-1 )
|
Liquid oxygen, kerosene (RP-1) | |
Liquid oxygen tank capacity[73] | 287.4 t (634,000 lb) | 75.2 t (166,000 lb) | |
Kerosene tank capacity[73] | 123.5 t (272,000 lb) | 32.3 t (71,000 lb) | |
Engine nozzle | Gimbaled, 16:1 expansion | Gimbaled, 165:1 expansion | |
Engine designer/manufacturer | SpaceX | SpaceX | |
Thrust, stage total | 22.82 MN (5,130,000 lbf), sea level | 934 kN (210,000 lbf), vacuum | |
Propellant feed system | Turbopump | Turbopump | |
Throttle capability
|
Yes: 419–816 kN (94,000–183,000 lbf), sea level | Yes: 360–930 kN (82,000–209,000 lbf), vacuum | |
Restart capability
|
Yes, in 3 engines for boostback, reentry, and landing | Yes, dual redundant igniters
| |
Tank pressurization | Heated helium | Heated helium | |
Ascent pitch, yaw
|
Gimbaled engines | Gimbaled engine and nitrogen gas thrusters | |
Ascent attitude control: roll
|
Gimbaled engines | Nitrogen gas thrusters | |
Coast/descent attitude control | Nitrogen gas thrusters and grid fins
|
Nitrogen gas thrusters | Nitrogen gas thrusters |
Shutdown process | Commanded | Commanded | — |
Stage separation system
|
Pneumatic | — | Pneumatic |
The Falcon Heavy uses a 4.5 m (15 ft)
The Falcon Heavy includes first-stage
Capabilities
The partially reusable Falcon Heavy falls into the heavy-lift range of launch systems, capable of lifting 20–50 t (44,000–110,000 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO), under the classification system used by a NASA human spaceflight review panel.[76] A fully expendable Falcon Heavy is in the super heavy-lift category with a maximum payload of 64 t (141,000 lb) to low Earth orbit.
The initial concept (Falcon 9-S9 2005) envisioned payloads of 24.75 t (54,600 lb) to LEO, but by April 2011 this was projected to be up to 53 t (117,000 lb)[77] with geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) payloads up to 12 t (26,000 lb).[78] Later reports in 2011 projected higher payloads beyond LEO, including 19 t (42,000 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit,[79] 16 t (35,000 lb) to translunar trajectory, and 14 t (31,000 lb) on a trans-Martian orbit to Mars.[80][81]
By late 2013, SpaceX raised the projected GTO payload for Falcon Heavy to up to 21.2 t (47,000 lb).[82]
In April 2017, the projected LEO payload for Falcon Heavy was raised from 54.4 to 63.8 t (120,000 to 141,000 lb). The maximum payload is achieved when the rocket flies a fully expendable launch profile, not recovering any of the three first-stage boosters.[1] With just the core booster expended, and two side-boosters recovered, Musk estimates the payload penalty to be around 10%, which would still yield over 57 t (126,000 lb) of lift capability to LEO.[83] Returning all three boosters to the launch site rather than landing them on drone ships would yield about 30 t of payload to LEO.[84]
Destination | Falcon Heavy | Falcon 9 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
August 2013 to April 2016 |
May 2016 to March 2017 |
Since April 2017 | ||
LEO (28.5°) expendable | 53 t | 54.4 t | 63.8 t | 22.8 t |
GTO (27.0°) expendable | 21.2 t | 22.2 t | 26.7 t | 8.3 t |
GTO (27.0°) reusable | 6.4 t | 6.4 t | 8 t | 5.5 t |
Mars | 13.2 t | 13.6 t | 16.8 t | 4 t |
Pluto | – | 2.9 t | 3.5 t | – |
Reusability
From 2013 to 2016, SpaceX conducted parallel development of a reusable rocket architecture for
Falcon Heavy payload performance to
Propellant crossfeed
Falcon Heavy was originally designed with a unique "propellant crossfeed" capability, whereby the center core engines would be supplied with fuel and oxidizer from the two side cores until their
Musk stated in 2016 that crossfeed would not be implemented.[92] Instead, the center booster throttles down shortly after liftoff to conserve fuel, and resumes full thrust after the side boosters have separated.[3]
Launch prices
At an appearance in May 2004 before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Musk testified, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. We expect that each size increase would result in a meaningful decrease in cost per pound to orbit. ... Ultimately, I believe US$500 per pound or less is very achievable".[93] This $1,100/kg ($500/lb) goal stated by Musk in 2011 is 35% of the cost of the lowest-cost-per-pound LEO-capable launch system in a 2001 study: the Zenit, a medium-lift launch vehicle that could carry 14 t (31,000 lb) into LEO for US$35–50 million.[94] In 2011, SpaceX stated that the cost of reaching low Earth orbit could be as low as $2,200/kg ($1,000/lb) if an annual rate of four launches can be sustained, and as of 2011 planned to eventually launch as many as 10 Falcon Heavies and 10 Falcon 9s annually.[80]
The published prices for Falcon Heavy launches have changed as development progressed, with announced prices for the various versions of Falcon Heavy priced at US$80–125 million in 2011,[77] US$83–128 million in 2012,[78] US$77–135 million in 2013,[95] US$85 million for up to 6.4 t (14,000 lb) to GTO in 2014, US$90 million for up to 8 t (18,000 lb) to GTO in 2016.[96]
From 2017 to early 2022, the price has been stated at US$150 million for 63.8 t (141,000 lb) to LEO or 26.7 t (59,000 lb) to GTO (fully expendable).[97] This equates to a price of US$2,350 per kg to LEO and US$5,620 per kg to GTO. In 2022, the published price for a reusable launch was $97 million.[98] In 2022 NASA contracted with SpaceX to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on a Falcon Heavy for approximately $255 million, including launch service and other mission related costs.[99]
The nearest competing U.S. rocket is ULA's Delta IV Heavy with a LEO payload capacity of 28.4 t (63,000 lb) costs US$12,340 per kg to LEO and US$24,630 per kg to GTO.[100] The Delta IV Heavy will be retired in 2024.
Competitors from 2024 onwards may include SpaceX's Starship (100+ t to LEO), Blue Origin's New Glenn (45 t to LEO), Relativity Space's Terran R (34 t to LEO), and United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur (27 t to LEO).
Launches and payloads
Due to improvements to the performance of
Flight No. | Launch date | Payload and mass | Customer | Price | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 February 2018 20:45 UTC[4] |
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster ~1,250 kg (2,760 lb)[107] |
SpaceX | Internal | Success[108] |
First demonstration flight launched a Tesla Roadster to a trans-Mars injection heliocentric orbit.[109][110] Both side boosters returned to the launch site and made simultaneous landings; the center core failed to fully relight on landing and crashed into the water adjacent to the droneship, resulting in damage to the vessel's thrusters.[50] | |||||
2 | 11 April 2019 22:35 UTC[111] |
Arabsat-6A 6,465 kg (14,253 lb)[112] |
Arabsat | Undisclosed[113] | Success[114] |
Heavy communications satellite purchased by the Arab League. | |||||
3 | 25 June 2019 06:30 UTC[120] |
USAF STP-2 3,700 kg (8,200 lb) |
United States Department of Defense | US$160.9 million[121] | Success |
The mission supported the LightSail 2,[122] GPIM,[123][124][125] OTB (hosting the Deep Space Atomic Clock,[126][127]) six COSMIC-2 (FORMOSAT-7),[128][129] Oculus-ASR,[130] Prox-1,[122] and ISAT.[131] Successfully reused the boosters from the second Falcon Heavy flight.[104][118] Center core failed to land on the droneship and was lost.[132]
| |||||
4 | 1 November 2022 13:41 UTC[133] |
USSF-44 ~3,750 kg (8,270 lb) |
U.S. Space Force, Millennium Space Systems and Lockheed Martin Space | ~US$130 million
(from a US$297 million contract including two Falcon 9s[134][135]) |
Success |
First classified flight of Falcon Heavy. The contract was awarded to SpaceX for a price of under 30% of that of a typical Delta IV Heavy launch (US$440 million). Payload includes two separate satellites and at least three additional rideshare payloads (including TETRA-1)[136] and weighs roughly 3.7 t (8,200 lb) at launch.[137] They were launched in a direct geosynchronous orbit, necessitating for the first time a planned partially expendable launch, that is, to deliberately expend the center core which lacks grid fins and landing gear needed for a landing,[138] while the two side-boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[139] It was originally scheduled for Q1 2022, but it was delayed due to payload issues to 1 November 2022.[140] Second stage featured a mission extension kit with a gray band painted on the RP-1 kerosene fuel tank, which absorbs sunlight and keeps the propellant from freezing.[141] | |||||
5 | 15 January 2023 22:56 UTC[142] |
USSF-67 ~3,750 kg (8,270 lb) |
U.S. Space Force | US$317 million (includes new infrastructure[143]) |
Success |
Second classified flight of Falcon Heavy, using a new center core in an expendable configuration (no grid fins or landing gear), while the two reused[144] side-boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The second stage had a gray band for thermal purposes as the mission requirements were similar to the USSF-44 mission.[145] | |||||
6 | 1 May 2023 00:26 UTC[146] |
ViaSat-3 Americas Arcturus (Aurora 4A)[147][148] G-Space 1 (aka Nusantara-H1-A) ~6,200 kg (13,700 lb) |
Success | ||
Falcon Heavy was originally slated to launch the Viasat-2 satellite, but due to delays an Ariane 5 launch vehicle was used instead.[149] Viasat maintained the launch option and delivered its next Ka-band satellite aboard the Falcon Heavy – this one intended to provide service to the Americas region. Astranis' microGEO satellite Arcturus was manifested in late September 2021. Following a series of MVac engine burns and long periods of coasting, the upper stage of Falcon Heavy deployed the satellite into a near-geosynchronous orbit at approximately T+4:32:27.[150][151] The upper stage went on to successfully deploy the additional payloads, G-Space 1 and Arcturus. Featured a thermal gray band second stage. | |||||
7 | 29 July 2023 03:04 UTC[152] |
Jupiter-3 (EchoStar-24)[153] ~9,200 kg (20,300 lb) |
EchoStar | Success | |
Heaviest commercial geostationary satellite weighing 9,200 kg (20,300 lb) at launch. The second stage had a gray band for the same reason as on the USSF-44 flight, but this time it was configured for medium coast phase.[153] Core expended, two boosters recovered to land. Payload fairing recovery attempted. | |||||
8 | 13 October 2023 14:19 UTC[154] |
Psyche ~2,608 kg (5,750 lb) |
NASA (Discovery) | US$117 million[155] | Success |
Falcon Heavy launched the 2.6 t (5,700 lb) Psyche orbiter mission into a heliocentric orbit. From there, the main asteroid belt.[155] Core expended, two boosters recovered to land. No gray band on second stage as the flight plan did not include long coast phases.
| |||||
9 | 29 December 2023 01:07 UTC[156] |
OTV-7 )~6,350 kg (14,000 lb) + OTV payload |
Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office[157]/U.S. Space Force | US$149 million[158][159] | Success |
Third classified flight of Falcon Heavy, awarded in June 2018. This mission will be the fourth flight of the second | |||||
10 | NET 25 June 2024[164] | GOES-U | NASA | US$152.5 million | Planned |
In September 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX launch services contract for the geostationary GOES-U weather satellite.[165] | |||||
11 | NET 10 October 2024 | Europa Clipper | NASA (Planetary Missions) | US$178 million[166] | Planned |
Europa Clipper will conduct a detailed survey of Europa and use a sophisticated suite of science instruments to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life. Key mission objectives are to produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon's icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa's ocean. The mission will make flybys of Mars and Earth before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030.[167][168] | |||||
12 | NET November 2024[169][170] | VIPER (Griffin Mission 1) | Astrobotic/NASA (Artemis )
|
Undisclosed[171] (list price US$90 million) | Planned |
Astrobotic's expected to recover all 3 boosters. | |||||
13 | NET 2025[64] | Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) |
NASA (Artemis) | US$331.8 million | Planned |
First elements for the Gateway mini-station as part of the Artemis program,[173][174] awarded in February 2021.[175] Maxar had already made $27.5 million in payments to SpaceX for the contract to launch the PPE, but later, NASA decided to launch both PPE and HALO together.[176] | |||||
14 | 2025[177][178][179] | GPS IIIF-1 | USSF
|
Planned | |
15 | 2025[177][178][179] | USSF-75
|
USSF
|
Planned | |
16 | 2025[177][178][179] | USSF-70
|
USSF
|
Planned | |
17 | NET October 2026[180] | Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | Launch Services Program )
|
$255 million | Planned |
Infrared space telescope to be stationed at Sun-Earth L2.[181] | |||||
18 | 2026[182] | (Griffin Mission Two) | Astrobotic
|
TBA | |
Third Astrobotic lunar lander mission. | |||||
- | 2028[183][184][185] | GLS-1 ( Dragon XL )
|
NASA (Gateway Logistics Services) | Planned | |
In March 2020, NASA announced its first contract for the Gateway Logistics Services that guarantees at least two launches on a new Dragon XL resupply spacecraft on top of a Falcon Heavy that will carry over 5 t (11,000 lb) of cargo to the Lunar orbit on 6–12 months long missions.[186][187] | |||||
- | 2029[183] | GLS-2 ( Dragon XL )
|
NASA (Gateway Logistics Services) | Planned | |
Second Dragon XL flight
| |||||
– | TBA | TBA | Intelsat | TBA | |
This was the first commercial agreement of a Falcon Heavy, and was signed in May 2012.[188] In 2018, the contract option was still maintained but no definitive payload had been chosen.[189] |
First commercial contracts
In May 2012, SpaceX announced that
In 2014, Inmarsat booked three launches with Falcon Heavy,[193] but due to delays they switched a payload to Ariane 5 for 2017.[194] Similarly to the Intelsat 35e case, another satellite from this contract, Inmarsat 5-F4, was switched to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust due to the increased liftoff capacity.[56] The remaining contract covered the launch of Inmarsat-6 F1 in 2020 on a Falcon 9.[195]
Department of Defense contracts
In December 2012, SpaceX announced its first Falcon Heavy launch contract with the
In April 2015, SpaceX sent the U.S. Air Force an updated letter of intent outlining a certification process for its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch national security satellites. The process includes three successful flights of the Falcon Heavy including two consecutive successful flights, and the letter stated that Falcon Heavy can be ready to fly national security payloads by 2017.
SpaceX was awarded 40% of the launches in Phase 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contracts, which includes several launches and a vertical integration facility and development of a larger fairing, from 2024 to 2027.[201]
Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission
The payload for the STP-2 mission of the Department of Defense included 25 small spacecraft from the U.S. military, NASA, and research institutions:[54]
The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) was a payload; it is a project partly developed by the U.S. Air Force to demonstrate a less-toxic propellant.[123][202]
Another secondary payload is the miniaturized Deep Space Atomic Clock that is expected to facilitate autonomous navigation.[203] The Air Force Research Laboratory's Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) has a mass of 500 kg (1,100 lb) and will measure the effects of very low frequency radio waves on space radiation.[54] The British 'Orbital Test Bed' payload is hosting several commercial and military experiments.
Other small satellites included Prox 1, built by
The Block 5-second stage allowed multiple reignitions to place its many payloads in multiple orbits. The launch was planned to include a 5 t (11,000 lb) ballast mass,[204] but the ballast mass was later omitted from the 3.7 t (8,200 lb) total mass for the payload stack.[205]
NASA contracts
Solar System transport missions
In 2011, NASA
Lunar missions
Falcon Heavy is the launch vehicle for the initial modules of the Lunar Gateway: Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO).[209] To decrease complexity[210] NASA announced in February 2021 that it is launching the first two elements on a single Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, targeting a launch date no earlier than 2025.[64][175] Before switching to a merged launch, NASA listed in April 2020 Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for PPE lone launch.[211]
In March 2020, Falcon Heavy won the first award to a resupply mission to the Lunar Gateway, placing a new
Psyche and Europa Clipper
NASA chose Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for its Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid; it launched on 13 October 2023.[212] The contract was worth US$117 million.[213][214][215]
Europa Clipper was initially targeted to be launched on an SLS rocket. However, due to extensive delays, in 2021 NASA awarded the launch contract to SpaceX for a fully expendable Falcon Heavy.[216]
See also
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- Comparison of orbital launchers families
- SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure
- Saturn C-3
- Delta IV Heavy
Notes
- ^ In some reusable configurations, it is heavy lift.
References
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- ^ Erwin, Sandra (21 September 2019). "Air Force certified Falcon Heavy for national security launch but more work needed to meet required orbits". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
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There is a lot of risk associated with the Falcon Heavy. There is a real good chance that the vehicle does not make it to orbit ... I hope it makes far enough away from the pad that it does not cause pad damage. I would consider even that a win, to be honest. ... I think Falcon Heavy is going to be a great vehicle. There is just so much that is really impossible to test on the ground. We'll do our best. ... It actually ended up being way harder to do Falcon Heavy than we thought. At first it sounds real easy; you just stick two first stages on as strap-on boosters. How hard can that be? But then everything changes. [the loads change, aerodynamics totally change, tripled vibration and acoustics, you break the qualification levels on all the hardware, redesign the center core airframe, separation systems] ... Really way, way more difficult than we originally thought. We were pretty naive about that. ... but optimized, its 2 1/2 times the payload capability of Falcon 9.
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