fbpx
Wikipedia

Falcon Heavy

January 20, 2023

Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. The rocket consists of two strap-on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages, a center core also made from a Falcon 9 first stage, and a second stage on top.[8] Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA's Space Launch System and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit, trailing the Saturn V, Energia and Space Launch System.

Falcon Heavy
FunctionPartially reusable heavy-lift – super heavy‑lift launch vehicle
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
Cost per launch
  • Reusable: US$97 million (2022)[1]
  • Expendable: US$150 million (2017)[2]
Size
Height70 m (230 ft)[3][needs update]
Diameter3.66 m (12.0 ft) (each booster)
Width12.2 m (40 ft)
Mass1,420 t (3,130,000 lb)
Stages2.5
Capacity
Payload to low Earth orbit
Orbital inclination28.5°
Mass63.8 t (141,000 lb)[3]
Payload to geosynchronous transfer orbit
Orbital inclination27.0°
Mass26.7 t (59,000 lb)[3]
Payload to Mars transfer orbit
Mass16.8 t (37,000 lb)[3]
Payload to Pluto
Mass3.5 t (7,700 lb)[3]
Associated rockets
Based onFalcon 9
Comparable
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Total launches5
Success(es)5
Landings
  • 1 center core landed / 3 attempted
  • 8 side boosters landed / 8 attempted
First flight6 February 2018[4]
Last flight15 January 2023
Boosters
No. boosters2
Powered by9 Merlin 1D per booster[3]
Maximum thrust
  • Sea level: 7.6 MN; 1,700,000 lbf (770 tf) (each)
  • Vacuum: 8.2 MN; 1,900,000 lbf (840 tf) (each)
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
  • Sea level: 282 s (2.77 km/s)[5]
  • Vacuum: 311 s (3.05 km/s)[6]
Burn time154.3 seconds
PropellantSubcooled LOX / Chilled RP-1[7]
First stage
Powered by9 Merlin 1D[3]
Maximum thrust
  • Sea level: 7.6 MN; 1,700,000 lbf (770 tf)
  • Vacuum: 8.2 MN; 1,900,000 lbf (840 tf)
Specific impulse
  • Sea level: 282 s (2.77 km/s)
  • Vacuum: 311 s (3.05 km/s)
Burn time187 seconds
PropellantSubcooled LOX / Chilled RP-1
Second stage
Powered by1 Merlin 1D Vacuum[3]
Maximum thrust934 kN; 210,000 lbf (95.2 tf)
Specific impulse348 s (3.41 km/s)
Burn time397 seconds
PropellantLOX / RP-1
[edit on Wikidata]

SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy's maiden launch on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC.[4] The rocket carried Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with a dummy dubbed "Starman" in the driver's seat, as a dummy payload.[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, 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 in-development Starship launch system.[13]

History

 
SpaceX breaking ground at Vandenberg Air Force Base, SLC-4E in June 2011 for the Falcon Heavy launch pad

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 initial test flight expected in 2013.[17]

A number of factors delayed the planned maiden flight by five years 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 a 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 mentioned Falcon Heavy in a September 2005 news update, referring to a customer request from 18 months prior.[20] Various solutions using the planned Falcon 5 (which was never flown) had been explored, but the only cost-effective, reliable iteration was one that used a 9-engine first stage — the Falcon 9. The Falcon Heavy was developed with private capital with Musk stating that the cost was more than US$500 million. No government financing was provided for its development.[21]

Design and development

 
From left to right, Falcon 1, Falcon 9 v1.0, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.1, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust), three versions of Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy and Falcon Heavy Block 5

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 SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas, specifically to test the triple cores and twenty-seven rocket engines of the Falcon Heavy.[26] By May 2017, SpaceX conducted the first static fire test of flight-design Falcon Heavy center core at the McGregor facility.[27][28]

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

Main article: Falcon Heavy test flight

In April 2011, Musk was planning for a first launch of Falcon Heavy from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the West Coast in 2013.[23][31] SpaceX refurbished Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg AFB to accommodate Falcon 9 and Heavy. The first launch from the Cape Canaveral East Coast launch complex was planned for late 2013 or 2014.[32]

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 his personal Tesla Roadster playing David Bowie's "Life on Mars", and that it would be launched into an orbit around the Sun that will reach the orbit of Mars.[40][41] He released pictures in the following days.[42] The car had three cameras attached to provide "epic views".[9]

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 heliocentric orbit, and would reach the asteroid belt. Later, observations by telescopes showed that the Roadster would only slightly exceed the orbit of Mars at aphelion.[51]

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 STP-2 (DoD Space Test Program) payload.[53] The payload was composed of 25 small spacecraft.[54] Operational Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions for Intelsat and Inmarsat, which were planned for late 2017, were moved to the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket version as it had become powerful enough to lift those heavy payloads in its expendable configuration.[55][56] In June 2022, the U.S. Space Force certified Falcon Heavy for launching its top secret satellites, with the first such launch being USSF-44 which happened at 1 November 2022;[57] it successfully launched on 1 November 2022.[58] and the second of which being USSF-67,[59]which was launched 11 weeks after USSF-44.

Following the announcement of NASA's Artemis program of returning humans to the Moon, the Falcon Heavy rocket has been mentioned several times as an alternative to the expensive Space Launch System (SLS) program, but NASA decided to exclusively use SLS to launch the Orion capsule.[60][61] However, Falcon Heavy will support commercial missions for the Artemis program,[62] since it will be used to transport the Dragon XL spacecraft to the Gateway. It was also selected to launch the first two elements of the Lunar Gateway, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), and the Habitation And Logistics Outpost (HALO), on a single launch in November 2024.[63]

Design

 
Falcon Heavy on pad LC-39A

Falcon Heavy consists of a structurally strengthened Falcon 9 as the "core" component, with two additional Falcon 9 first stages with aerodynamic nose–cones mounted outboard serving as strap-on boosters,[8] conceptually similar to Delta IV Heavy launcher and proposals for the Atlas V Heavy and Russian Angara A5V. This triple first stage carries a standard Falcon 9 second stage, which in turn carries the payload in a fairing. Falcon Heavy has more lift capability than any other operational rocket, with a payload of 63,800 kg (140,700 lb) to low Earth orbit, 26,700 kg (58,900 lb) to Geostationary Transfer Orbit, and 16,800 kg (37,000 lb) to trans-Mars injection.[64] The rocket was designed to meet or exceed all current requirements of human rating. The structural safety margins are 40% above flight loads, higher than the 25% margins of other rockets.[65] Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and it would restore the possibility of flying crewed missions to the Moon or Mars.[3]

 
The Merlin 1D engine

The first stage is powered by three Falcon 9 derived cores, each equipped with nine Merlin 1D engines. The Falcon Heavy has a total sea-level thrust at liftoff of 22.82 MN (5,130,000 lbf), from the 27 Merlin 1D engines, while thrust rises to 24.68 MN (5,550,000 lbf) as the craft climbs out of the atmosphere.[3] The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin 1D engine modified for vacuum operation, with a thrust of 934 kN (210,000 lbf), an expansion ratio of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 397 seconds. At launch, the center core throttles to full power for a few seconds for additional thrust, then throttles down. This allows a longer burn time. After the side boosters separate, the center core throttles back up to maximum thrust. For added reliability of restart, the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters (Triethylaluminium-Triethylborane) (TEA-TEB).[8] The interstage, which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9, is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure. Stage separation occurs via reusable separation collets and a pneumatic pusher system. The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from Aluminium–lithium alloy. SpaceX uses an all-friction stir welded tank. The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling, material, and manufacturing techniques. This approach reduces manufacturing costs during vehicle production.[8]

All three cores of the Falcon Heavy arrange the engines in a structural form SpaceX calls Octaweb, aimed at streamlining the manufacturing process,[66] and each core includes four extensible landing legs.[67] To control the descent of the boosters and center core through the atmosphere, SpaceX uses four retractable grid fins at the top of each of the three Falcon 9 boosters, which extend after separation.[68] Immediately after the side boosters separate, the center engine in each burns for a few seconds in order to control the booster's trajectory safely away from the rocket.[67][69] The grid fins then deploy as the boosters turn back to Earth, followed by the landing legs. Each booster lands softly on the ground in fully reusable launch configuration. The two side boosters land on different drone ships in partial reusable configuration. The center core continues to fire until stage separation. In fully reusable launches, its grid fins and legs deploy and the center core touches down either back on land or on a drone ship. If the stages are expended, then the landing legs and grid fins are omitted from the vehicle. The landing legs are made of carbon fiber with aluminum honeycomb structure. The four legs stow along the sides of each core during liftoff and extend outward and down just before landing.[70]

Rocket specifications

Falcon Heavy specifications and characteristics[71]
Characteristic First stage core unit
(1 × center, 2 × booster) 		Second stage Payload fairing
Height[71] 42.6 m (140 ft) 12.6 m (41 ft) 13.2 m (43 ft)
Diameter[71] 3.66 m (12.0 ft) 3.66 m (12.0 ft) 5.2 m (17 ft)
Dry mass[71] 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: monocoque
Fuel tank: skin and 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[71] 287.4 t (634,000 lb) 75.2 t (166,000 lb)
Kerosene tank capacity[71] 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 TEA-TEB
pyrophoric igniters
Tank pressurization Heated helium Heated helium
Ascent attitude control:
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) interstage attached to the first stage core.[71] It is a composite structure consisting of an aluminum honeycomb core surrounded by a carbon fiber face sheet plies. Unlike for Falcon 9, the black thermal protection layer on the interstage of Block 5 center core boosters is not seen in the Falcon Heavy flights so far. The overall length of the vehicle at launch is 70 m (230 ft), and the total fueled mass is 1,420 t (3,130,000 lb). Without recovery of any stage, the Falcon Heavy can inject a 63.8 t (141,000 lb) payload into a low Earth orbit, or 16.8 t (37,000 lb) to Venus or Mars.[71]

The Falcon Heavy includes first-stage recovery systems, to allow SpaceX to return the first stage boosters to the launch site as well as recover the first stage core following landing at an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship barge after completion of primary mission requirements. These systems include four deployable landing legs, which are locked against each first-stage tank core during ascent and deploy just prior to touchdown. Excess propellant reserved for Falcon Heavy first-stage recovery operations will be diverted for use on the primary mission objective, if required, ensuring sufficient performance margins for successful missions. The nominal payload capacity to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is 8 t (18,000 lb) with recovery of all three first-stage cores (the price per launch is US$97 million), versus 26.7 t (59,000 lb) in fully expendable mode. The Falcon Heavy can also inject a 16 t (35,000 lb) payload into GTO if only the two side boosters are recovered.[71]

Capabilities

 
Twenty-seven Merlin engines firing during launch of Arabsat-6A in 2019

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.[72] 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)[73] with geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) payloads up to 12 t (26,000 lb).[74] Later reports in 2011 projected higher payloads beyond LEO, including 19 t (42,000 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit,[75] 16 t (35,000 lb) to translunar trajectory, and 14 t (31,000 lb) on a trans-Martian orbit to Mars.[76][77]

By late 2013, SpaceX raised the projected GTO payload for Falcon Heavy to up to 21.2 t (47,000 lb).[78]

 
Long exposure of a night launch, 25 June 2019

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.[79] Returning all three boosters to the launch site rather than landing them on drone ships would yield about 30 t of payload to LEO.[80]

Maximum theoretical payload capacity
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

Main article: SpaceX reusable launch system development program

From 2013 to 2016, SpaceX conducted parallel development of a reusable rocket architecture for Falcon 9, that applies to parts of Falcon Heavy as well. Early on, SpaceX had expressed hopes that all rocket stages would eventually be reusable.[81] SpaceX has since demonstrated routine land and sea recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage, and have successfully recovered multiple payload fairings.[82][83] In the case of Falcon Heavy, the two outer cores separate from the rocket earlier in the flight, and are thus moving at a lower velocity than in a Falcon 9 launch profile.[70] For the first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX had considered attempting to recover the second stage,[84] but did not execute this plan.

Falcon Heavy payload performance to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) is reduced by the reusable technology, but at a much lower price. When recovering all three booster cores, GTO payload is 8 t (18,000 lb).[1] If only the two outside cores are recovered while the center core is expended, GTO payload would be approximately 16 t (35,000 lb).[71] As a comparison, the next-heaviest contemporary rocket, the fully expendable Delta IV Heavy, can deliver 14.2 t (31,000 lb) to GTO.[85]

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 separation.[86] Operating all engines at full thrust from launch, with fuel supplied mainly from the side boosters, would deplete the side boosters sooner, allowing their earlier separation to reduce the mass being accelerated. This would leave most of the center core propellant available after booster separation.[87]

Musk stated in 2016 that crossfeed would not be implemented.[88] Instead, the center booster throttles down shortly after liftoff to conserve fuel, and resumes full thrust after the side boosters have separated.[3]

Environmental impact

BBC Science Focus, in February 2018, published an article on Falcon Heavy's environmental impact. It stated concerns that frequent Falcon Heavy launches can contribute to pollution in the atmosphere.[89]

The Planetary Society was concerned that launching a non-sterile object (as was done on the Falcon Heavy Test Flight) to interplanetary space may risk biological contamination of a foreign world.[90] Scientists at Purdue University thought it was the "dirtiest" man-made object ever sent into space, in terms of bacteria amount, noting the car was previously driven on Los Angeles freeways. Although the vehicle will be sterilized by solar radiation over time, some bacteria might survive on pieces of plastic which could contaminate Mars in the distant future.[91][92]

A study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration found that the boost-back and landing of Falcon Heavy boosters "would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment".[93]

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".[94] 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.[95] 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.[76]

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,[73] US$83–128 million in 2012,[74] US$77–135 million in 2013,[96] 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.[97]

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).[98] 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;[99] however 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.[100]

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.[101] The Delta IV Heavy will be retired in 2024 with 2 flights remaining as of October 2022.

Competitors from 2023 onwards may include SpaceX Starship (100+ t to LEO), Blue Origin's New Glenn (45 t to LEO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) SHLV (41.3 t to LEO) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur (27 t to LEO).

Launches and payloads

See also: List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches

Due to improvements to the performance of Falcon 9, some of the heavier satellites flown to GTO, such as Intelsat 35e[102] and Inmarsat-5 F4,[103] ended up being launched before the debut of Falcon Heavy. SpaceX anticipated the first commercial Falcon Heavy launch would be three to six months after a successful maiden flight,[104][105] but due to delays the first commercial payload, Arabsat-6A was successfully launched on 11 April 2019, a year and two months after the first flight. SpaceX hoped to have 10 launches every year from 2021 on,[106] but there were no launches in 2020 or 2021.

Falcon Heavy launches[107]
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)[108]		 SpaceX Internal Success[109]
In this demonstration flight, a Tesla Roadster was sent to a trans-Mars injection heliocentric orbit.[110][111] Both side boosters landed successfully; the center booster struck the ocean and was destroyed after two of its engines failed to relight during the landing burn, damaging two of the drone ship's engines.[50]
2 11 April 2019,
22:35 UTC[112]		 Arabsat-6A
6,465 kg (14,253 lb)[113]		 Arabsat Undisclosed[114] Success[115]
Heavy communications satellite purchased by the Arab League.[116] All three boosters landed successfully[117] but the center core subsequently fell over and was lost during transport due to heavy seas.[118] The two side-boosters were reused on the STP-2 launch.[119][120]
3 25 June 2019
06:30 UTC[121]		 USAF STP-2
3,700 kg (8,200 lb) 		United States Department of Defense US$160.9 million[122] Success
The mission supported the U.S. Air Force National Security Space Launch (formerly EELV) certification process for the Falcon Heavy.[116] The original contract price was US$165 million, which was later reduced, in big part due to military's agreement to fly the mission with reused side boosters. Secondary payloads include orbiters: LightSail 2,[123] GPIM,[124][125][126] OTB (hosting the Deep Space Atomic Clock,[127][128]) six COSMIC-2 (FORMOSAT-7),[129][130] Oculus-ASR,[131] Prox-1,[123] and ISAT.[132] Successfully reused the boosters from the second Falcon Heavy flight.[105][119] The center core booster did not land successfully and was destroyed upon impact in the Atlantic Ocean.[133]
4 1 November 2022
13:40 UTC[134][135]		 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[136][137])

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[138]) and will weigh roughly 3.7 t (8,200 lb) at launch.[139] 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,[140] while the two side-boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[141] It was originally scheduled for Q1 2022, but it was delayed due to payload issues to 1 November 2022.[142]

The second stage featured a gray band due to its long coast phase between subsequent burns, to allow more heat from sunlight to be absorbed to warm the RP-1 kerosene tank during the longer coasting period, a first for FH and third for any falcon rocket. When it gets too cold, kerosene – which freezes at a much higher temperature than Falcon’s liquid oxygen oxidizer – becomes viscous and slush-like before it freezes solid. If ingested, slushy fuel would likely prevent ignition or destroy the upper stage’s Merlin engine.[143]

5 15 January 2023, 22:56 UTC[144] USSF-67
~3,750 kg (8,270 lb) 		U.S. Space Force US$317 million
(includes new infrastructure[145]) 		Success
First SpaceX launch of the Phase 2 USAF contract on a Falcon Heavy with an increased fairing size, used a new center core in an expendable configuration (no grid fins or landing gear), while the two reused[146] side-boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 2nd stage had a gray band for thermal purposes as the mission requirements are similar to the USSF-44 mission.[147]
– NET March 2023 ViaSat-3 Americas
Arcturus (Aurora 4A)[148][149]		 Viasat
Astranis / Pacific Dataport 		Planned
Falcon Heavy was originally slated to launch the Viasat-2 satellite, but due to delays an Ariane 5 launch vehicle was used instead.[150] Viasat maintained the launch option and will launch its next Ka-band satellite, which will serve either of the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) or Americas regions, using Falcon Heavy. The upper stage of Falcon Heavy will deploy the satellite into a near-geosynchronous orbit that will include a coasting stage several hours long between burns.[151][152] Arcturus was added as an independent secondary payload in late September 2021.
– NET 10 April 2023[153] USSF-52 U.S. Space Force US$149 million[154][155] Planned
Second classified flight of Falcon Heavy, awarded in June 2018.
– NET May 2023[156] Jupiter-3 (EchoStar-24)[157] EchoStar Planned
Satellite will weigh 9,200 kg (20,300 lb) at launch.[157]
– 10 October 2023[158] Psyche NASA (Discovery) US$117 million[159] Scheduled
Falcon Heavy will launch the 2.6 t (5,700 lb) Psyche orbiter mission into a heliocentric orbit. From there, the Psyche spacecraft will visit the Psyche asteroid in the main asteroid belt.[159]
– NET 30 April 2024[160] GOES-U NASA US$152.5 million Planned
In September 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX launch services contract for the geostationary GOES-U weather satellite.[161]
– NET October 2024 Europa Clipper NASA (Planetary Missions) US$178 million[162] 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 fly past Mars and Earth before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030.[163][164]
– NET November 2024[165][166] VIPER (Griffin Mission 1) Astrobotic/NASA (Artemis) Undisclosed[167] (list price US$90 million) Planned
Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander will deliver NASA's VIPER spacecraft to the lunar south pole.[168]
– NET November 2024[63] 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,[169][170] awarded in February 2021.[171] 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.[172]
– NET December 2024[173] 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.[174][175]
– NET January 2026[173] GLS-2 (Dragon XL) NASA (Gateway Logistics Services) Planned
Second Dragon XL flight
– NET October 2026[176] Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA (Launch Services Program) $255 million Planned
Infrared space telescope to be stationed at Earth-Moon L2.[177]
– TBA TBA Intelsat TBA
This was the first commercial agreement of a Falcon Heavy, and was signed in May 2012.[178] In 2018, the option was still maintained but no satellite had been chosen.[179]

First commercial contracts

In May 2012, SpaceX announced that Intelsat had signed the first commercial contract for a Falcon Heavy flight. It was not confirmed at the time when the first Intelsat launch would occur, but the agreement will have SpaceX delivering satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).[180][181] In August 2016, it emerged that this Intelsat contract had been reassigned to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust mission to deliver Intelsat 35e into orbit in the third quarter of 2017.[55] Performance improvements of the Falcon 9 vehicle family since the 2012 announcement, advertising 8.3 t (18,000 lb) to GTO for its expendable flight profile,[182] enable the launch of this 6 t satellite without upgrading to a Falcon Heavy variant.

In 2014, Inmarsat booked three launches with Falcon Heavy,[183] but due to delays they switched a payload to Ariane 5 for 2017.[184] Similarly to the Intelsat 35e case, another satellite from this contract, Inmarsat 5-F4, was switched to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust thanks to the increased liftoff capacity.[56] The remaining contract covers the launch of Inmarsat-6 F1 in 2020 on a Falcon 9.[185]

Department of Defense contracts

In December 2012, SpaceX announced its first Falcon Heavy launch contract with the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded SpaceX two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)-class missions, including the Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission for Falcon Heavy, originally scheduled to be launched in March 2017,[186][187] to be placed at a near circular orbit at an altitude of 700 km (430 mi), with an inclination of 70.0°.[188]

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.[189] But in July 2017, SpaceX announced that the first test flight would take place in December 2017, pushing the launch of the second launch (Space Test Program 2) to June 2018.[54] In May 2018, on the occasion of the first launch of the Falcon 9 Block 5 variant, a further delay to October 2018 was announced, and the launch was eventually pushed back to 25 June 2019.[53] The STP-2 mission used three Block 5 cores.[190]

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.[191]

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.[124][192]

Another secondary payload is the miniaturized Deep Space Atomic Clock that is expected to facilitate autonomous navigation.[193] 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 Georgia Tech students to test out a 3D-printed thruster and a miniaturized gyroscope, LightSail by The Planetary Society,[123] Oculus-ASR nanosatellite from Michigan Tech,[131] and CubeSats from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the United States Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Texas at Austin, California Polytechnic State University, and a CubeSat assembled by students at Merritt Island High School in Florida.[54]

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,[194] but the ballast mass was later omitted from the 3.7 t (8,200 lb) total mass for the payload stack.[195]

NASA contracts

Solar System transport missions

In 2011, NASA Ames Research Center proposed a Mars mission called Red Dragon that would use a Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle and trans-Martian injection vehicle, and a variant of the Dragon capsule to enter the Martian atmosphere. The proposed science objectives were to detect biosignatures and to drill 1 m (3.3 ft) or so underground, in an effort to sample reservoirs of water ice known to exist under the surface. The mission cost as of 2011 was projected to be less than US$425 million, not including the launch cost.[196] SpaceX 2015 estimation was 2,000–4,000 kg (4,400–8,800 lb) to the surface of Mars, with a soft retropropulsive landing following a limited atmospheric deceleration using a parachute and heat shield.[197] Beyond the Red Dragon concept, SpaceX was seeing potential for Falcon Heavy and Dragon 2 to carry science payloads across much of the Solar System, particularly to Jupiter's moon Europa.[197] SpaceX announced in 2017 that propulsive landing for Dragon 2 would not be developed further, and that the capsule would not receive landing legs. Consequently, the Red Dragon missions to Mars were canceled in favor of Starship, a larger vehicle using a different landing technology.[198]

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).[199] To decrease complexity[200] 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 November 2024.[63][171] Before switching to a merged launch, NASA listed in April 2020 Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for PPE lone launch.[201]

In March 2020, Falcon Heavy won the first award to a resupply mission to the Gateway, placing a new Dragon XL spacecraft on a translunar injection orbit.[175]

Psyche and Europa Clipper

NASA has chosen Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for its Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid with a planned launch in October 2023.[158] The contract is worth US$117 million.[202][203][204]

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.[205]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Capabilities & Services" (PDF). SpaceX. 2022. (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  2. ^ Sheetz, Michael (12 February 2018). "Elon Musk says the new SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket crushes its competition on cost". CNBC. from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Falcon Heavy". SpaceX. 16 November 2012. from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Harwood, William (6 February 2018). "SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch puts on spectacular show in maiden flight". CBS News. from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. ^ . SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. ^ Ahmad, Taseer; Ammar, Ahmed; Kamara, Ahmed; Lim, Gabriel; Magowan, Caitlin; Todorova, Blaga; Tse, Yee Cheung; White, Tom. "The Mars Society Inspiration Mars International Student Design Competition" (PDF). Mars Society. (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  7. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (17 December 2015). "-340 °F in this case. Deep cryo increases density and amplifies rocket performance. First time anyone has gone this low for O2. [RP-1 chilled] from 70 °F to 20 °F" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 December 2015 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b c d . SpaceX. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Elon Musk's huge Falcon Heavy rocket set for launch". BBC News. 6 February 2018. from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  10. ^ SpaceX (10 August 2018), Arabsat-6A Mission, from the original on 11 April 2019, retrieved 11 April 2019
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Pasztor, Andy. "Elon Musk Says SpaceX's New Falcon Heavy Rocket Unlikely to Carry Astronauts". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  13. ^ Foust, Jeff (29 September 2017). "Musk unveils revised version of giant interplanetary launch system". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  14. ^ "An Interview with Elon Musk". HobbySpace. 25 August 2003. from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  15. ^ Musk, Elon; Koenigsmann, Hans; Gurevich, Gwynne (14 August 2003). The Falcon Launch Vehicle – An Attempt at Making Access to Space More Affordable, Reliable and Pleasant. 17th Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites. Logan, Utah: Utah State University. from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. ^ Gaskill, Braddock (10 October 2005). "SpaceX reveals Falcon 1 Halloween date". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  17. ^ Clark, Stephen (5 April 2011). "SpaceX enters the realm of heavy-lift rocketry". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  18. ^ Wall, Mike (20 July 2017). "SpaceX's Big New Rocket May Crash on 1st Flight, Elon Musk Says". Space.com. from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Elon Musk (19 July 2017). Elon Musk, ISS R&D Conference (video). ISS R&D Conference, Washington D.C., U.S. Event occurs at 36:00–39:50. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2018 – via YouTube. 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, it's 2 1/2 times the payload capability of Falcon 9.
  20. ^ Musk, Elon (20 December 2005). "June 2005 through September 2005 Update". SpaceX. from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  21. ^ Boozer, R.D. (10 March 2014). "Rocket reusability: a driver of economic growth". The Space Review. 2014. from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  22. ^ Musk, Elon (16 August 2008). . shitelonsays.com. Mars Society Conference, Boulder Colorado. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  23. ^ a b c "F9/Dragon: Preparing for ISS" (Press release). SpaceX. 15 August 2011. from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  24. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (20 March 2015). "SpaceX Aims To Debut New Version of Falcon 9 this Summer". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  25. ^ SpaceX (28 December 2016). "Falcon Heavy interstage being prepped at the rocket factory. When FH flies next year, it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two". Instagram. from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Falcon Heavy Test Stand". from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  27. ^ Berger, Eric (9 May 2017). "SpaceX proves Falcon Heavy is indeed a real rocket with a test firing". Ars Technica. from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  28. ^ @SpaceX (9 May 2017). "First static fire test of a Falcon Heavy center core completed at our McGregor, TX rocket development facility last week" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 May 2017 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ @SpaceX (1 September 2017). "Falcon Heavy's 3 first stage cores have all completed testing at our rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 September 2017 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ a b "SpaceX performs crucial test fire of Falcon Heavy, potentially paving way for launch". The Verge. from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  31. ^ "U.S. SpaceX to build heavy-lift, low-cost rocket". Reuters. 5 April 2011. from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  32. ^ "SpaceX announces launch date for the world's most powerful rocket" (Press release). SpaceX. 5 April 2011. from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  33. ^ Foust, Jeff (2 September 2015). "First Falcon Heavy Launch Scheduled for Spring". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  34. ^ "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  35. ^ Foust, Jeff (4 February 2016). "SpaceX seeks to accelerate Falcon 9 production and launch rates this year". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  36. ^ Bergin, Chris (9 August 2016). "Pad hardware changes preview new era for Space Coast". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  37. ^ "SpaceX is pushing back the target launch date for its first Mars mission". The Verge. 17 February 2017. from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  38. ^ Clark, Stephen (14 October 2017). "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  39. ^ "Debut of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket now planned early next year". spaceflightnow.com. Spaceflight Now. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  40. ^ Plait, Phil (2 December 2017). "Elon Musk: On the Roadster to Mars". Syfy Wire. from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  41. ^ "Musk says Tesla car will fly on first Falcon Heavy launch". SpaceNews.com. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  42. ^ Knapp, Alex (22 December 2017). "Elon Musk Shows Off Photos of a Tesla Roadster Getting Prepped to Go to Mars". Forbes. from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  43. ^ Kelly, Emre (17 January 2018). "SpaceX Falcon Heavy status updates: Now targeting Friday for test fire at KSC". Florida Today. from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  44. ^ Grush, Loren (22 January 2018), Shutdown means SpaceX can't test its Falcon Heavy rocket, creating further delays, The Verge, from the original on 22 January 2018, retrieved 22 January 2018
  45. ^ Kapatos, Dennis (24 January 2018), 01/24/2018 – Historic Falcon 9 Heavy Test Fire!, from the original on 24 January 2018, retrieved 24 January 2018
  46. ^ @elonmusk (27 January 2018). "Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on February 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  47. ^ @SpaceX (6 February 2018). "Continue to monitor the upper level wind shear. New T-0 is 3:45 p.m. EST, 20:45 UTC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  48. ^ @elonmusk (6 February 2018). "Falcon Heavy side cores have landed at SpaceX's Landing Zones 1 and 2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  49. ^ "SpaceX Landed the Falcon Heavy's Two Boosters, But Its Core Clipped Its Drone Ship at 300 MPH". Gizmodo. from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  50. ^ a b "The middle booster of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket failed to land on its drone ship". The Verge. from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  51. ^ "Elon Musk's Tesla overshot Mars' orbit, but it won't reach the asteroid belt as claimed". The Verge. from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  52. ^ "A year after the colossal SpaceX rocket's debut, Falcon Heavy has 'high value' uses – despite skepticism". CNBC. 8 February 2019. from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  53. ^ a b c "SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch with Arabsat reset for Tuesday". UPI. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  54. ^ a b c d e Rideshare mission for U.S. military confirmed as second Falcon Heavy launch March 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now, 1 March 2018
  55. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (30 August 2016). "SES agrees to launch satellite on "flight-proven" Falcon 9 rocket". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  56. ^ a b de Selding, Peter B. (3 November 2016). "Inmarsat, juggling two launches, says SpaceX to return to flight in December". SpaceNews. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  57. ^ Wattles, Jackie (1 November 2022). "SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket returns to flight after three years". CNN. from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  58. ^ Erwin, Sandra (1 November 2022). "SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches first U.S. national security mission". Space News. from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  59. ^ "Archived copy". from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  60. ^ "NASA head rules out SpaceX rockets for 2024 moon mission". CNET. from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  61. ^ Grush, Loren (18 July 2019). "NASA's daunting to-do list for sending people back to the Moon". The Verge. from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  62. ^ "As NASA tries to land on the Moon, it has plenty of rockets to choose from". 10 October 2019. from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  63. ^ a b c "NASA, Northrop Grumman Finalize Moon Outpost Living Quarters Contract". NASA (Press release). 9 July 2021. from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  64. ^ "Falcon Heavy Overview". SpaceX. 2020. from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  65. ^ "SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World's Most Powerful Rocket". SpaceRef.com. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  66. ^ "Octaweb". SpaceX. 12 April 2013. from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  67. ^ a b "Landing Legs". SpaceX. 12 April 2013. from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  68. ^ Kremer, Ken (27 January 2015). "Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch and Booster Recovery Featured in Cool New SpaceX Animation". Universe Today. from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  69. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Nield, George C. (April 2014). (PDF) (Report). Vol. 1. Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Commercial Space Transportation. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013.
  70. ^ a b Simberg, Rand (8 February 2012). "Elon Musk on SpaceX's Reusable Rocket Plans". Popular Mechanics. from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  71. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Fiche Technique: Falcon Heavy" [Technical data sheet: Falcon Heavy]. Espace & Exploration (in French). No. 51. June 2019. pp. 62–63. from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  72. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation" (PDF). NASA. October 2009. (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  73. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (5 April 2011). "SpaceX enters the realm of heavy-lift rocketry". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  74. ^ a b "Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – Falcon Heavy". SpaceX. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.[permanent dead link]
  75. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  76. ^ a b "SpaceX Press Conference". SpaceX. from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  77. ^ "Feasibility of a Dragon-derived Mars lander for scientific and human-precursor investigations" (PDF). 8m.net. 31 October 2011. (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  78. ^ . SpaceX. 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  79. ^ @elonmusk (12 February 2018). "Side boosters landing on droneships & center expended is only ~10% performance penalty vs fully expended. Cost is only slightly higher than an expended F9, so around US$95 million" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  80. ^ Elon Musk (29 September 2017). Becoming a Multiplanet Species (video). Adelaide Australia: SpaceX. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via YouTube.
  81. ^ Bergin, Chris (12 January 2009). "Musk ambition: SpaceX aim for fully reusable Falcon 9". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  82. ^ "Fairing Recovery Attempts". SpaceXFleet. from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  83. ^ Clark, Stephen (31 March 2017). "SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost-cutting technology". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  84. ^ @elonmusk (31 March 2017). "Considering trying to bring upper stage back on Falcon Heavy demo flight for full reusability. Odds of success low, but maybe worth a shot" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via Twitter.
  85. ^ "ULA Delta IV Reference Page". United Launch Alliance. from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  86. ^ Strickland, John K. Jr. (September 2011). "The SpaceX Falcon Heavy Booster". National Space Society. from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  87. ^ "SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World's Most Powerful Rocket". SpaceX. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  88. ^ @elonmusk (1 May 2016). ""Does FH expendable performance include crossfeed?" "No cross feed. It would help performance, but is not needed for these numbers"" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via Twitter.
  89. ^ "What is the environmental impact of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch?". BBC Science Focus. 13 February 2018. from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  90. ^ Let's talk about Elon Musk launching his Tesla into space June 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Jason Davis, The Planetary Society, 5 February 2018
  91. ^ Purdue University (27 February 2018). "Tesla in space could carry bacteria from Earth". phys.org. from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  92. ^ Szondy, David (28 February 2018). "The Tesla Roadster could be the dirtiest manmade object in space". New Atlas. from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  93. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Adoption of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Boost-back and Landing of Falcon Heavy Boosters at Landing Zone-1, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida" (PDF). FAA. 28 November 2017. (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  94. ^ Testimony of Elon Musk (5 May 2004). "Space Shuttle and the Future of Space Launch Vehicles". SpaceRef. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  95. ^ Sietzen, Frank Jr. (18 March 2001). "Spacelift Washington: International Space Transportation Association Faltering; The myth of US$10,000 per pound". SpaceRef. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  96. ^ . 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014
  97. ^ . SpaceX. 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014.
  98. ^ "SpaceX". SpaceX. from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  99. ^ "Capabilities & Services" (PDF). SpaceX. 2022. (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  100. ^ Dodson, Gerelle (18 July 2022). "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Roman Space Telescope". NASA. from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  101. ^ "Delta IV". ulalaunch.com. United Launch Alliance. from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  102. ^ "SpaceX set to launch massive satellite on July 2nd: 3 flights in 9 days". teslarati.com. 27 June 2017. from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  103. ^ "Inmarsat, juggling two launches, says SpaceX to return to flight in December". SpaceNews. 3 November 2016. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  104. ^ Foust, Jeff (5 February 2018). "SpaceX set for Falcon Heavy debut". SpaceNews. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  105. ^ a b Berger, Eric (29 January 2019). "After government re-opened, SpaceX sought two Falcon Heavy permits". Ars Technica. from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  106. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Draft Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Falcon Launches at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station" (PDF). FAA. 2020. (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  107. ^ "Falcon-Heavy (Block 5)". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  108. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Tesla Roadster (AKA: Starman, 2018-017A)". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. NASA. 1 March 2018. from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  109. ^ Chang, Kenneth (6 February 2018). "Falcon Heavy, in a Roar of Thunder, Carries SpaceX's Ambition Into Orbit". The New York Times. from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  110. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (1 December 2017). "Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn't blow up on ascent" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via Twitter.
  111. ^ @SpaceX (22 December 2017). "A Red Car for the Red Planet instagram.com/p/BdA94kVgQhU" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 January 2018 – via Twitter.
  112. ^ FOX (11 April 2019). "Launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket pushed to Thursday". WOFL. from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  113. ^ "Arabsat 6A". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  114. ^ "Arabsat CEO: Falcon Heavy gives our satellite extra life". SpaceNews. 11 April 2019. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  115. ^ Clark, Stephen (11 April 2019). "SpaceX's Falcon Heavy successful in commercial debut". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  116. ^ a b Foust, Jeff (19 December 2018). "NASA looking to launch delayed space science missions in early 2019". SpaceNews. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  117. ^ Graham, William (11 April 2019). "SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches Arabsat-6A". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  118. ^ Kelly, Emre (15 April 2019). "SpaceX: Falcon Heavy core booster lost to rough seas en route to Port Canaveral". Florida Today. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  119. ^ a b "Falcon Heavy and Starlink headline SpaceX's upcoming manifest". NASASpaceFlight.com. 6 March 2019. from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  120. ^ "SpaceX to Launch Falcon Heavy Rocket #Nasa @Kennedy Space Center, 5:35pm". YouTube. from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  121. ^ "Rocket Launch Viewing at Cape Canaveral: Where & How to Watch, View and See Atlas 5, Delta 4 & Falcon 9 Launches". launchphotography.com. from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  122. ^ "Preview: Succeed or fail, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy test sure to be a..." The Planetary Society. from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  123. ^ a b c "Lightsail". Planetary Society. from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  124. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "About Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)". NASA. 2014. from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  125. ^ "Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)". Ball Aerospace. 2014. from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  126. ^ (PDF). Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  127. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) Overview April 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine NASA Accessed on December 10, 2018
  128. ^ General Atomics Completes Ready-For-Launch Testing of Orbital Test Bed Satellite December 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, press release on April 3, 2018
  129. ^ "SpaceX Awarded Two EELV-Class Missions From The United States Air Force". SpaceX. 5 December 2012. from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  130. ^ "FORMOSAT 7 / COSMIC-2". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  131. ^ a b "Oculus-ASR". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  132. ^ "Falcon overloaded with knowledge – Falcon Heavy rocket under the Space Test Program 2 scheduled in October 2016". Spaceflights News. from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  133. ^ "SpaceX, Falcon Heavy center core narrowly miss". Inverse. from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  134. ^ "USSF-44". Next Spaceflight. from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  135. ^ Stephen Clark. "After a three-year wait, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  136. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Air Force awards US$739 million launch service contracts". Air Force Space Command. 19 February 2019. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  137. ^ "SpaceX Wins Potential US$297 million Contract for USAF, NRO Satellite Launch Services". 20 February 2019. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  138. ^ "US Space Force TETRA-1 Satellite Prepared for Launch After 15-month Integration – Parabolic Arc". from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  139. ^ Ralph, Eric (9 September 2020). "SpaceX's next Falcon Heavy launch slips into 2021". Teslarati. from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  140. ^ "USSF-44 centre core lacks landing gear and grid fins". Twitter. from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  141. ^ Stephen Clark. "After a three-year wait, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022. The core stage was expended on the USSF-44, while the rocket's two side boosters returned to near-simultaneous landings in SpaceX's recovery zone at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A military spokesperson said in 2021 that the Falcon Heavy's two side boosters on the USSF-44 mission would target landing on two SpaceX drone ships floating downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.
  142. ^ Clark, Stephen (23 May 2022). "Launch of NASA's Psyche asteroid mission delayed to late September". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022. One of those missions, USSF 44, had been tentatively scheduled for late June, but has been postponed indefinitely. ... All of the delays to the upcoming Falcon Heavy missions have been caused by payload issues.
  143. ^ Ralph, Eric (11 October 2022). "SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy launch in three years eyes late-October liftoff". TESLARATI. from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  144. ^ Stephen Clark. "After a three-year wait, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022. The Space Force said its USSF-67 mission, which the military says will launch into geosynchronous orbit like USSF-44, is currently scheduled for January.
  145. ^ "Space News". 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  146. ^ Clark, Stephen. "Falcon Heavy rocket on the launch pad for one of SpaceX's most complex missions – Spaceflight Now". from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2022. The next military mission to fly on a Falcon Heavy rocket, named USSF-67, will launch the LDPE 3 spacecraft and a Space Force communications satellite in tandem. That launch is scheduled for January, and will use the same Falcon Heavy side boosters flown on the USSF-44 mission, assuming a successful recovery on the landing zones at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the Space Force said.
  147. ^ "Falcon Heavy could launch three U.S. Space Force missions in 2022". spacenews.com. 31 October 2021. from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  148. ^ Rainbow, Jason (23 September 2021). "Next commercial Falcon Heavy mission to launch debut Astranis satellite". SpaceNews. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  149. ^ "Application for Fixed Satellite Service by Astranis Bermuda Ltd. – Attachment Narrative" (PDF). Astranis Bermuda. FCC. 7 June 2021. (PDF) from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  150. ^ "Arabsat Falcon Heavy mission slated for December–January timeframe". SpaceNews. 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  151. ^ Clark, Stephen. "Viasat confirms SpaceX's Falcon Heavy will launch next-gen broadband satellite". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  152. ^ "Viasat, SpaceX Enter Contract for a Future ViaSat-3 Satellite Launch". Viasat. 25 October 2018. from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  153. ^ "Falcon Heavy | USSF-52". nextspaceflight.com. from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  154. ^ "Air Force Awards AFSPC-52 Launch Services Contract to SpaceX". Air Force Space Command. 21 June 2018. from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  155. ^ "Contracts For Aug. 20, 2021". defense.gov. 20 August 2021. from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $19,226,072 bilateral modification (P00009) to previously awarded Space Force 52 contract FA8811-18-C-0003... ...the total cumulative face value of the contract is $149,226,072.
  156. ^ Baylor, Michael. "Falcon Heavy - EchoStar 24 (Jupiter 3)". from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  157. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter (6 May 2022). "Jupiter 3 / EchoStar 24". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  158. ^ a b "NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission". JPL. NASA. 28 October 2022. from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  159. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Psyche Mission". NASA. 28 February 2020. from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  160. ^ (PDF). Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. NASA. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  161. ^ Margetta, Robert (10 September 2021). "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for GOES-U Mission". NASA. from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  162. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Europa Clipper Mission" (Press release). NASA. 23 July 2021. from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  163. ^ "The Flagship: Europa Clipper Inches Forward, Shackled to the Earth". Supercluster. from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  164. ^ "NASA to use commercial launch vehicle for Europa Clipper". SpaceNews. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  165. ^ Colaprete, Anthony (17 August 2020). "VIPER: A lunar water reconnaissance mission" (PDF). NASA. p. 2. (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  166. ^ "NASA Replans CLPS Delivery of VIPER to 2024 to Reduce Risk". NASA. 18 July 2022. from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  167. ^ Colaprete, Anthony (13 April 2021). "Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA's VIPER lunar rover". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  168. ^ Foust, Jeff (13 April 2021). "Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA's VIPER lunar rover". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  169. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "NASA Assessments of Major Projects April 2020" (PDF). US Government Accountability Office. (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  170. ^ Clark, Stephen. "NASA plans to launch first two Gateway elements on same rocket". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  171. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Potter, Sean (9 February 2021). "NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost". NASA. from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  172. ^ "Space News". 12 November 2020. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  173. ^ a b Clark, Stephen. "NASA picks SpaceX to deliver cargo to Gateway station in lunar orbit – Spaceflight Now". from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  174. ^ Sheetz, Michael (27 March 2020). "SpaceX's most powerful rocket will send NASA cargo to the moon's orbit to supply astronauts". CNBC. from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  175. ^ a b "SpaceX wins NASA commercial cargo contract for lunar Gateway". SpaceNews. 27 March 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  176. ^ "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Roman Space Telescope". NASA (Press release). 19 July 2022. from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  177. ^ "NASA Introduces New, Wider Set of Eyes on the Universe". 18 February 2016. from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2022. The observatory will begin operations after travelling to a gravitational balance point known as Earth-Sun L2
  178. ^ Henry, Caleb (1 June 2018). "Arabsat Falcon Heavy mission slated for December–January timeframe". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  179. ^ Doherty, Caitlin (4 June 2018). "First EVER commercial launch via Elon Musk's SpaceX could happen before end of this year". express.co.uk. from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  180. ^ "SpaceX Announces First Commercial Contract For Launch In 2013". Red Orbit. 30 May 2012. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  181. ^ "Intelsat Signs First Commercial Falcon Heavy Launch Agreement With SpaceX" (Press release). SpaceX. 29 May 2012. from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  182. ^ . SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  183. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (2 July 2014). "Inmarsat Books Falcon Heavy for up to Three Launches". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  184. ^ Foust, Jeff (8 December 2016). "Inmarsat shifts satellite from SpaceX to Arianespace". SpaceNews. from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  185. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Inmarsat-6 F1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  186. ^ David, Leonard (13 April 2016). "Spacecraft Powered by 'Green' Propellant to Launch in 2017". Space.com. from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  187. ^ Foust, Jeff (9 August 2016). "SpaceX offers large rockets for small satellites". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  188. ^ "DSAC (Deep Space Atomic Clock)". NASA. Earth Observation Resources. 2014. from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  189. ^ Gruss, Mike (15 April 2015). "SpaceX Sends Air Force an Outline for Falcon Heavy Certification". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  190. ^ Davis, Jason (11 May 2018). "LightSail 2 launch slips to Fall". The Planetary Society. from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  191. ^ "Space Force awards National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch service contracts to ULA, SpaceX". United States Air Force. 7 August 2020. from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  192. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Green Propellant Infusion Mission Project" (PDF). NASA. July 2013. (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  193. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Deep Space Atomic Clock". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. 27 April 2015. from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  194. ^ Eric Ralph, SpaceX Falcon Heavy with Block 5 rockets targets November launch debut December 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Teslarati
  195. ^ "A SpaceX surprise: Falcon Heavy booster landing to smash distance record". 19 June 2019. from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  196. ^ Wall, Mike (31 July 2011). ""Red Dragon" Mission Mulled as Cheap Search for Mars Life". Space.com. from the original on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  197. ^ a b Bergin, Chris (11 May 2015). "Falcon Heavy enabler for Dragon solar system explorer". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  198. ^ . The Verge. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  199. ^ Clark, Stephen. "NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station". Spaceflight Now. from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  200. ^ "NASA plans to launch first two Gateway elements on same rocket". 6 May 2020. from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  201. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Assessments of Major Projects" (PDF). gao.gov. GAO. 2020. (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  202. ^ Foust, Jeff (28 February 2020). "Falcon Heavy to launch NASA Psyche asteroid mission". spacenews.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  203. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (29 February 2020). "SpaceX wins the $117 million launch contract to explore Psyche's heavy metal asteroid". TechCrunch. from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  204. ^ Moon, Mariella (29 February 2020). "NASA's Psyche asteroid mission will use a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket". Engadget. from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  205. ^ Potter, Sean (23 July 2021). "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission". NASA. from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.

External links

  • Falcon Heavy official page
  • Falcon Heavy flight animation, February 2018
  • Elon Musk on how Falcon Heavy will change space travel, The Verge YouTube

January 20, 2023
falcon, heavy, partially, reusable, heavy, lift, launch, vehicle, that, produced, spacex, american, aerospace, manufacturer, rocket, consists, strap, boosters, made, from, falcon, first, stages, center, core, also, made, from, falcon, first, stage, second, sta. Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX an American aerospace manufacturer The rocket consists of two strap on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages a center core also made from a Falcon 9 first stage and a second stage on top 8 Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA s Space Launch System and the fourth highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit trailing the Saturn V Energia and Space Launch System Falcon HeavyFalcon Heavy test flight launchFunctionPartially reusable heavy lift super heavy lift launch vehicleManufacturerSpaceXCountry of originUnited StatesCost per launchReusable US 97 million 2022 1 Expendable US 150 million 2017 2 SizeHeight70 m 230 ft 3 needs update Diameter3 66 m 12 0 ft each booster Width12 2 m 40 ft Mass1 420 t 3 130 000 lb Stages2 5CapacityPayload to low Earth orbitOrbital inclination28 5 Mass63 8 t 141 000 lb 3 Payload to geosynchronous transfer orbitOrbital inclination27 0 Mass26 7 t 59 000 lb 3 Payload to Mars transfer orbitMass16 8 t 37 000 lb 3 Payload to PlutoMass3 5 t 7 700 lb 3 Associated rocketsBased onFalcon 9ComparableDelta IV Heavy New Glenn Saturn C 3 Space Launch System Vulcan CentaurLaunch historyStatusActiveLaunch sitesKennedy Space Center LC 39ATotal launches5Success es 5Landings1 center core landed 3 attempted8 side boosters landed 8 attemptedFirst flight6 February 2018 4 Last flight15 January 2023BoostersNo boosters2Powered by9 Merlin 1D per booster 3 Maximum thrustSea level 7 6 MN 1 700 000 lbf 770 tf each Vacuum 8 2 MN 1 900 000 lbf 840 tf each Total thrustSea level 15 2 MN 3 400 000 lbf 1 550 tf Vacuum 16 4 MN 3 700 000 lbf 1 670 tf Specific impulseSea level 282 s 2 77 km s 5 Vacuum 311 s 3 05 km s 6 Burn time154 3 secondsPropellantSubcooled LOX Chilled RP 1 7 First stagePowered by9 Merlin 1D 3 Maximum thrustSea level 7 6 MN 1 700 000 lbf 770 tf Vacuum 8 2 MN 1 900 000 lbf 840 tf Specific impulseSea level 282 s 2 77 km s Vacuum 311 s 3 05 km s Burn time187 secondsPropellantSubcooled LOX Chilled RP 1Second stagePowered by1 Merlin 1D Vacuum 3 Maximum thrust934 kN 210 000 lbf 95 2 tf Specific impulse348 s 3 41 km s Burn time397 secondsPropellantLOX RP 1 edit on Wikidata SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy s maiden launch on 6 February 2018 at 20 45 UTC 4 The rocket carried Elon Musk s Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk with a dummy dubbed Starman in the driver s seat as a dummy payload 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 in development Starship launch system 13 Contents 1 History 1 1 Conception and funding 1 2 Design and development 1 3 Testing 1 4 Maiden flight 1 5 Later flights 2 Design 3 Rocket specifications 4 Capabilities 4 1 Reusability 4 2 Propellant crossfeed 4 3 Environmental impact 5 Launch prices 6 Launches and payloads 6 1 First commercial contracts 6 2 Department of Defense contracts 6 2 1 Space Test Program 2 STP 2 mission 6 3 NASA contracts 6 3 1 Solar System transport missions 6 3 2 Lunar missions 6 3 3 Psyche and Europa Clipper 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksHistory Edit SpaceX breaking ground at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC 4E in June 2011 for the Falcon Heavy launch pad 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 initial test flight expected in 2013 17 A number of factors delayed the planned maiden flight by five years 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 a 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 Edit Musk mentioned Falcon Heavy in a September 2005 news update referring to a customer request from 18 months prior 20 Various solutions using the planned Falcon 5 which was never flown had been explored but the only cost effective reliable iteration was one that used a 9 engine first stage the Falcon 9 The Falcon Heavy was developed with private capital with Musk stating that the cost was more than US 500 million No government financing was provided for its development 21 Design and development Edit From left to right Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1 0 three versions of Falcon 9 v1 1 three versions of Falcon 9 v1 2 Full Thrust three versions of Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy and Falcon Heavy Block 5 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 Edit By May 2013 a new partly underground test stand was being built at the SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor Texas specifically to test the triple cores and twenty seven rocket engines of the Falcon Heavy 26 By May 2017 SpaceX conducted the first static fire test of flight design Falcon Heavy center core at the McGregor facility 27 28 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 Edit Main article Falcon Heavy test flight In April 2011 Musk was planning for a first launch of Falcon Heavy from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the West Coast in 2013 23 31 SpaceX refurbished Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg AFB to accommodate Falcon 9 and Heavy The first launch from the Cape Canaveral East Coast launch complex was planned for late 2013 or 2014 32 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 his personal Tesla Roadster playing David Bowie s Life on Mars and that it would be launched into an orbit around the Sun that will reach the orbit of Mars 40 41 He released pictures in the following days 42 The car had three cameras attached to provide epic views 9 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 Maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy 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 heliocentric orbit and would reach the asteroid belt Later observations by telescopes showed that the Roadster would only slightly exceed the orbit of Mars at aphelion 51 Later flights Edit 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 STP 2 DoD Space Test Program payload 53 The payload was composed of 25 small spacecraft 54 Operational Geostationary transfer orbit GTO missions for Intelsat and Inmarsat which were planned for late 2017 were moved to the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket version as it had become powerful enough to lift those heavy payloads in its expendable configuration 55 56 In June 2022 the U S Space Force certified Falcon Heavy for launching its top secret satellites with the first such launch being USSF 44 which happened at 1 November 2022 57 it successfully launched on 1 November 2022 58 and the second of which being USSF 67 59 which was launched 11 weeks after USSF 44 Following the announcement of NASA s Artemis program of returning humans to the Moon the Falcon Heavy rocket has been mentioned several times as an alternative to the expensive Space Launch System SLS program but NASA decided to exclusively use SLS to launch the Orion capsule 60 61 However Falcon Heavy will support commercial missions for the Artemis program 62 since it will be used to transport the Dragon XL spacecraft to the Gateway It was also selected to launch the first two elements of the Lunar Gateway the Power and Propulsion Element PPE and the Habitation And Logistics Outpost HALO on a single launch in November 2024 63 Design Edit Falcon Heavy on pad LC 39A Falcon Heavy consists of a structurally strengthened Falcon 9 as the core component with two additional Falcon 9 first stages with aerodynamic nose cones mounted outboard serving as strap on boosters 8 conceptually similar to Delta IV Heavy launcher and proposals for the Atlas V Heavy and Russian Angara A5V This triple first stage carries a standard Falcon 9 second stage which in turn carries the payload in a fairing Falcon Heavy has more lift capability than any other operational rocket with a payload of 63 800 kg 140 700 lb to low Earth orbit 26 700 kg 58 900 lb to Geostationary Transfer Orbit and 16 800 kg 37 000 lb to trans Mars injection 64 The rocket was designed to meet or exceed all current requirements of human rating The structural safety margins are 40 above flight loads higher than the 25 margins of other rockets 65 Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and it would restore the possibility of flying crewed missions to the Moon or Mars 3 The Merlin 1D engine The first stage is powered by three Falcon 9 derived cores each equipped with nine Merlin 1D engines The Falcon Heavy has a total sea level thrust at liftoff of 22 82 MN 5 130 000 lbf from the 27 Merlin 1D engines while thrust rises to 24 68 MN 5 550 000 lbf as the craft climbs out of the atmosphere 3 The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin 1D engine modified for vacuum operation with a thrust of 934 kN 210 000 lbf an expansion ratio of 117 1 and a nominal burn time of 397 seconds At launch the center core throttles to full power for a few seconds for additional thrust then throttles down This allows a longer burn time After the side boosters separate the center core throttles back up to maximum thrust For added reliability of restart the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters Triethylaluminium Triethylborane TEA TEB 8 The interstage which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9 is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure Stage separation occurs via reusable separation collets and a pneumatic pusher system The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from Aluminium lithium alloy SpaceX uses an all friction stir welded tank The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling material and manufacturing techniques This approach reduces manufacturing costs during vehicle production 8 All three cores of the Falcon Heavy arrange the engines in a structural form SpaceX calls Octaweb aimed at streamlining the manufacturing process 66 and each core includes four extensible landing legs 67 To control the descent of the boosters and center core through the atmosphere SpaceX uses four retractable grid fins at the top of each of the three Falcon 9 boosters which extend after separation 68 Immediately after the side boosters separate the center engine in each burns for a few seconds in order to control the booster s trajectory safely away from the rocket 67 69 The grid fins then deploy as the boosters turn back to Earth followed by the landing legs Each booster lands softly on the ground in fully reusable launch configuration The two side boosters land on different drone ships in partial reusable configuration The center core continues to fire until stage separation In fully reusable launches its grid fins and legs deploy and the center core touches down either back on land or on a drone ship If the stages are expended then the landing legs and grid fins are omitted from the vehicle The landing legs are made of carbon fiber with aluminum honeycomb structure The four legs stow along the sides of each core during liftoff and extend outward and down just before landing 70 Rocket specifications EditFalcon Heavy specifications and characteristics 71 Characteristic First stage core unit 1 center 2 booster Second stage Payload fairingHeight 71 42 6 m 140 ft 12 6 m 41 ft 13 2 m 43 ft Diameter 71 3 66 m 12 0 ft 3 66 m 12 0 ft 5 2 m 17 ft Dry mass 71 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 monocoqueFuel tank skin and stringer LOX tank monocoqueFuel tank skin and stringer Monocoque halvesStructure material Aluminum lithium skin aluminum domes Aluminum lithium skin aluminum domes Carbon fiberEngines 9 Merlin 1D 1 Merlin 1D Vacuum Engine type Liquid gas generator Liquid gas generatorPropellant Subcooled liquid oxygen kerosene RP 1 Liquid oxygen kerosene RP 1 Liquid oxygen tank capacity 71 287 4 t 634 000 lb 75 2 t 166 000 lb Kerosene tank capacity 71 123 5 t 272 000 lb 32 3 t 71 000 lb Engine nozzle Gimbaled 16 1 expansion Gimbaled 165 1 expansionEngine designer manufacturer SpaceX SpaceXThrust stage total 22 82 MN 5 130 000 lbf sea level 934 kN 210 000 lbf vacuumPropellant feed system Turbopump TurbopumpThrottle capability Yes 419 816 kN 94 000 183 000 lbf sea level Yes 360 930 kN 82 000 209 000 lbf vacuumRestart capability Yes in 3 engines for boostback reentry and landing Yes dual redundant TEA TEBpyrophoric ignitersTank pressurization Heated helium Heated heliumAscent attitude control pitch yaw Gimbaled engines Gimbaled engine andnitrogen gas thrustersAscent attitude control roll Gimbaled engines Nitrogen gas thrustersCoast descent attitude control Nitrogen gas thrusters and grid fins Nitrogen gas thrusters Nitrogen gas thrustersShutdown process Commanded Commanded Stage separation system Pneumatic PneumaticThe Falcon Heavy uses a 4 5 m 15 ft interstage attached to the first stage core 71 It is a composite structure consisting of an aluminum honeycomb core surrounded by a carbon fiber face sheet plies Unlike for Falcon 9 the black thermal protection layer on the interstage of Block 5 center core boosters is not seen in the Falcon Heavy flights so far The overall length of the vehicle at launch is 70 m 230 ft and the total fueled mass is 1 420 t 3 130 000 lb Without recovery of any stage the Falcon Heavy can inject a 63 8 t 141 000 lb payload into a low Earth orbit or 16 8 t 37 000 lb to Venus or Mars 71 The Falcon Heavy includes first stage recovery systems to allow SpaceX to return the first stage boosters to the launch site as well as recover the first stage core following landing at an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship barge after completion of primary mission requirements These systems include four deployable landing legs which are locked against each first stage tank core during ascent and deploy just prior to touchdown Excess propellant reserved for Falcon Heavy first stage recovery operations will be diverted for use on the primary mission objective if required ensuring sufficient performance margins for successful missions The nominal payload capacity to a geostationary transfer orbit GTO is 8 t 18 000 lb with recovery of all three first stage cores the price per launch is US 97 million versus 26 7 t 59 000 lb in fully expendable mode The Falcon Heavy can also inject a 16 t 35 000 lb payload into GTO if only the two side boosters are recovered 71 Capabilities Edit Twenty seven Merlin engines firing during launch of Arabsat 6A in 2019 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 72 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 73 with geostationary transfer orbit GTO payloads up to 12 t 26 000 lb 74 Later reports in 2011 projected higher payloads beyond LEO including 19 t 42 000 lb to geostationary transfer orbit 75 16 t 35 000 lb to translunar trajectory and 14 t 31 000 lb on a trans Martian orbit to Mars 76 77 By late 2013 SpaceX raised the projected GTO payload for Falcon Heavy to up to 21 2 t 47 000 lb 78 Long exposure of a night launch 25 June 2019 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 79 Returning all three boosters to the launch site rather than landing them on drone ships would yield about 30 t of payload to LEO 80 Maximum theoretical payload capacity Destination Falcon Heavy Falcon 9August 2013to April 2016 May 2016to March 2017 SinceApril 2017LEO 28 5 expendable 53 t 54 4 t 63 8 t 22 8 tGTO 27 0 expendable 21 2 t 22 2 t 26 7 t 8 3 tGTO 27 0 reusable 6 4 t 6 4 t 8 t 5 5 tMars 13 2 t 13 6 t 16 8 t 4 tPluto 2 9 t 3 5 t Reusability Edit Main article SpaceX reusable launch system development program Falcon Heavy reusable side boosters land in unison at Cape Canaveral Landing Zones 1 and 2 following test flight on 6 February 2018 From 2013 to 2016 SpaceX conducted parallel development of a reusable rocket architecture for Falcon 9 that applies to parts of Falcon Heavy as well Early on SpaceX had expressed hopes that all rocket stages would eventually be reusable 81 SpaceX has since demonstrated routine land and sea recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage and have successfully recovered multiple payload fairings 82 83 In the case of Falcon Heavy the two outer cores separate from the rocket earlier in the flight and are thus moving at a lower velocity than in a Falcon 9 launch profile 70 For the first flight of Falcon Heavy SpaceX had considered attempting to recover the second stage 84 but did not execute this plan Falcon Heavy payload performance to geosynchronous transfer orbit GTO is reduced by the reusable technology but at a much lower price When recovering all three booster cores GTO payload is 8 t 18 000 lb 1 If only the two outside cores are recovered while the center core is expended GTO payload would be approximately 16 t 35 000 lb 71 As a comparison the next heaviest contemporary rocket the fully expendable Delta IV Heavy can deliver 14 2 t 31 000 lb to GTO 85 Propellant crossfeed Edit 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 separation 86 Operating all engines at full thrust from launch with fuel supplied mainly from the side boosters would deplete the side boosters sooner allowing their earlier separation to reduce the mass being accelerated This would leave most of the center core propellant available after booster separation 87 Musk stated in 2016 that crossfeed would not be implemented 88 Instead the center booster throttles down shortly after liftoff to conserve fuel and resumes full thrust after the side boosters have separated 3 Environmental impact Edit BBC Science Focus in February 2018 published an article on Falcon Heavy s environmental impact It stated concerns that frequent Falcon Heavy launches can contribute to pollution in the atmosphere 89 The Planetary Society was concerned that launching a non sterile object as was done on the Falcon Heavy Test Flight to interplanetary space may risk biological contamination of a foreign world 90 Scientists at Purdue University thought it was the dirtiest man made object ever sent into space in terms of bacteria amount noting the car was previously driven on Los Angeles freeways Although the vehicle will be sterilized by solar radiation over time some bacteria might survive on pieces of plastic which could contaminate Mars in the distant future 91 92 A study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration found that the boost back and landing of Falcon Heavy boosters would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment 93 Launch prices EditAt 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 94 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 95 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 76 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 73 US 83 128 million in 2012 74 US 77 135 million in 2013 96 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 97 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 98 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 99 however 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 100 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 101 The Delta IV Heavy will be retired in 2024 with 2 flights remaining as of October 2022 update Competitors from 2023 onwards may include SpaceX Starship 100 t to LEO Blue Origin s New Glenn 45 t to LEO Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO SHLV 41 3 t to LEO and United Launch Alliance ULA Vulcan Centaur 27 t to LEO Launches and payloads EditSee also List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches Due to improvements to the performance of Falcon 9 some of the heavier satellites flown to GTO such as Intelsat 35e 102 and Inmarsat 5 F4 103 ended up being launched before the debut of Falcon Heavy SpaceX anticipated the first commercial Falcon Heavy launch would be three to six months after a successful maiden flight 104 105 but due to delays the first commercial payload Arabsat 6A was successfully launched on 11 April 2019 a year and two months after the first flight SpaceX hoped to have 10 launches every year from 2021 on 106 but there were no launches in 2020 or 2021 Falcon Heavy launches 107 Flight No Launch date Payload and mass Customer Price Outcome1 6 February 2018 20 45 UTC 4 Elon Musk s Tesla Roadster 1 250 kg 2 760 lb 108 SpaceX Internal Success 109 In this demonstration flight a Tesla Roadster was sent to a trans Mars injection heliocentric orbit 110 111 Both side boosters landed successfully the center booster struck the ocean and was destroyed after two of its engines failed to relight during the landing burn damaging two of the drone ship s engines 50 2 11 April 2019 22 35 UTC 112 Arabsat 6A6 465 kg 14 253 lb 113 Arabsat Undisclosed 114 Success 115 Heavy communications satellite purchased by the Arab League 116 All three boosters landed successfully 117 but the center core subsequently fell over and was lost during transport due to heavy seas 118 The two side boosters were reused on the STP 2 launch 119 120 3 25 June 2019 06 30 UTC 121 USAF STP 23 700 kg 8 200 lb United States Department of Defense US 160 9 million 122 SuccessThe mission supported the U S Air Force National Security Space Launch formerly EELV certification process for the Falcon Heavy 116 The original contract price was US 165 million which was later reduced in big part due to military s agreement to fly the mission with reused side boosters Secondary payloads include orbiters LightSail 2 123 GPIM 124 125 126 OTB hosting the Deep Space Atomic Clock 127 128 six COSMIC 2 FORMOSAT 7 129 130 Oculus ASR 131 Prox 1 123 and ISAT 132 Successfully reused the boosters from the second Falcon Heavy flight 105 119 The center core booster did not land successfully and was destroyed upon impact in the Atlantic Ocean 133 4 1 November 202213 40 UTC 134 135 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 136 137 SuccessFirst 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 1 138 and will weigh roughly 3 7 t 8 200 lb at launch 139 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 140 while the two side boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station 141 It was originally scheduled for Q1 2022 but it was delayed due to payload issues to 1 November 2022 142 The second stage featured a gray band due to its long coast phase between subsequent burns to allow more heat from sunlight to be absorbed to warm the RP 1 kerosene tank during the longer coasting period a first for FH and third for any falcon rocket When it gets too cold kerosene which freezes at a much higher temperature than Falcon s liquid oxygen oxidizer becomes viscous and slush like before it freezes solid If ingested slushy fuel would likely prevent ignition or destroy the upper stage s Merlin engine 143 5 15 January 2023 22 56 UTC 144 USSF 67 3 750 kg 8 270 lb U S Space Force US 317 million includes new infrastructure 145 SuccessFirst SpaceX launch of the Phase 2 USAF contract on a Falcon Heavy with an increased fairing size used a new center core in an expendable configuration no grid fins or landing gear while the two reused 146 side boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station The 2nd stage had a gray band for thermal purposes as the mission requirements are similar to the USSF 44 mission 147 NET March 2023 ViaSat 3 AmericasArcturus Aurora 4A 148 149 ViasatAstranis Pacific Dataport PlannedFalcon Heavy was originally slated to launch the Viasat 2 satellite but due to delays an Ariane 5 launch vehicle was used instead 150 Viasat maintained the launch option and will launch its next Ka band satellite which will serve either of the Asia Pacific APAC Europe Middle East and Africa EMEA or Americas regions using Falcon Heavy The upper stage of Falcon Heavy will deploy the satellite into a near geosynchronous orbit that will include a coasting stage several hours long between burns 151 152 Arcturus was added as an independent secondary payload in late September 2021 NET 10 April 2023 153 USSF 52 U S Space Force US 149 million 154 155 PlannedSecond classified flight of Falcon Heavy awarded in June 2018 NET May 2023 156 Jupiter 3 EchoStar 24 157 EchoStar PlannedSatellite will weigh 9 200 kg 20 300 lb at launch 157 10 October 2023 158 Psyche NASA Discovery US 117 million 159 ScheduledFalcon Heavy will launch the 2 6 t 5 700 lb Psyche orbiter mission into a heliocentric orbit From there the Psyche spacecraft will visit the Psyche asteroid in the main asteroid belt 159 NET 30 April 2024 160 GOES U NASA US 152 5 million PlannedIn September 2021 NASA awarded SpaceX launch services contract for the geostationary GOES U weather satellite 161 NET October 2024 Europa Clipper NASA Planetary Missions US 178 million 162 PlannedEuropa 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 fly past Mars and Earth before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030 163 164 NET November 2024 165 166 VIPER Griffin Mission 1 Astrobotic NASA Artemis Undisclosed 167 list price US 90 million PlannedAstrobotic s Griffin lunar lander will deliver NASA s VIPER spacecraft to the lunar south pole 168 NET November 2024 63 Power and Propulsion Element PPE Habitation and Logistics Outpost HALO NASA Artemis US 331 8 million PlannedFirst elements for the Gateway mini station as part of the Artemis program 169 170 awarded in February 2021 171 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 172 NET December 2024 173 GLS 1 Dragon XL NASA Gateway Logistics Services PlannedIn 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 174 175 NET January 2026 173 GLS 2 Dragon XL NASA Gateway Logistics Services PlannedSecond Dragon XL flight NET October 2026 176 Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA Launch Services Program 255 million PlannedInfrared space telescope to be stationed at Earth Moon L2 177 TBA TBA Intelsat TBAThis was the first commercial agreement of a Falcon Heavy and was signed in May 2012 178 In 2018 the option was still maintained but no satellite had been chosen 179 First commercial contracts Edit In May 2012 SpaceX announced that Intelsat had signed the first commercial contract for a Falcon Heavy flight It was not confirmed at the time when the first Intelsat launch would occur but the agreement will have SpaceX delivering satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit GTO 180 181 In August 2016 it emerged that this Intelsat contract had been reassigned to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust mission to deliver Intelsat 35e into orbit in the third quarter of 2017 55 Performance improvements of the Falcon 9 vehicle family since the 2012 announcement advertising 8 3 t 18 000 lb to GTO for its expendable flight profile 182 enable the launch of this 6 t satellite without upgrading to a Falcon Heavy variant In 2014 Inmarsat booked three launches with Falcon Heavy 183 but due to delays they switched a payload to Ariane 5 for 2017 184 Similarly to the Intelsat 35e case another satellite from this contract Inmarsat 5 F4 was switched to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust thanks to the increased liftoff capacity 56 The remaining contract covers the launch of Inmarsat 6 F1 in 2020 on a Falcon 9 185 Department of Defense contracts Edit In December 2012 SpaceX announced its first Falcon Heavy launch contract with the United States Department of Defense DoD The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded SpaceX two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle EELV class missions including the Space Test Program 2 STP 2 mission for Falcon Heavy originally scheduled to be launched in March 2017 186 187 to be placed at a near circular orbit at an altitude of 700 km 430 mi with an inclination of 70 0 188 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 189 But in July 2017 SpaceX announced that the first test flight would take place in December 2017 pushing the launch of the second launch Space Test Program 2 to June 2018 54 In May 2018 on the occasion of the first launch of the Falcon 9 Block 5 variant a further delay to October 2018 was announced and the launch was eventually pushed back to 25 June 2019 53 The STP 2 mission used three Block 5 cores 190 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 191 Space Test Program 2 STP 2 mission Edit 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 124 192 Another secondary payload is the miniaturized Deep Space Atomic Clock that is expected to facilitate autonomous navigation 193 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 Georgia Tech students to test out a 3D printed thruster and a miniaturized gyroscope LightSail by The Planetary Society 123 Oculus ASR nanosatellite from Michigan Tech 131 and CubeSats from the U S Air Force Academy the Naval Postgraduate School the United States Naval Research Laboratory the University of Texas at Austin California Polytechnic State University and a CubeSat assembled by students at Merritt Island High School in Florida 54 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 194 but the ballast mass was later omitted from the 3 7 t 8 200 lb total mass for the payload stack 195 NASA contracts Edit Solar System transport missions Edit In 2011 NASA Ames Research Center proposed a Mars mission called Red Dragon that would use a Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle and trans Martian injection vehicle and a variant of the Dragon capsule to enter the Martian atmosphere The proposed science objectives were to detect biosignatures and to drill 1 m 3 3 ft or so underground in an effort to sample reservoirs of water ice known to exist under the surface The mission cost as of 2011 update was projected to be less than US 425 million not including the launch cost 196 SpaceX 2015 estimation was 2 000 4 000 kg 4 400 8 800 lb to the surface of Mars with a soft retropropulsive landing following a limited atmospheric deceleration using a parachute and heat shield 197 Beyond the Red Dragon concept SpaceX was seeing potential for Falcon Heavy and Dragon 2 to carry science payloads across much of the Solar System particularly to Jupiter s moon Europa 197 SpaceX announced in 2017 that propulsive landing for Dragon 2 would not be developed further and that the capsule would not receive landing legs Consequently the Red Dragon missions to Mars were canceled in favor of Starship a larger vehicle using a different landing technology 198 Lunar missions Edit 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 199 To decrease complexity 200 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 November 2024 63 171 Before switching to a merged launch NASA listed in April 2020 Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for PPE lone launch 201 In March 2020 Falcon Heavy won the first award to a resupply mission to the Gateway placing a new Dragon XL spacecraft on a translunar injection orbit 175 Psyche and Europa Clipper Edit NASA has chosen Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for its Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid with a planned launch in October 2023 158 The contract is worth US 117 million 202 203 204 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 205 See also Edit Spaceflight portal United States portal Companies portalComparison of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launchers families SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure Saturn C 3 Delta IV HeavyReferences Edit a b c Capabilities amp Services PDF SpaceX 2022 Archived PDF from the original on 22 March 2022 Retrieved 22 March 2022 Sheetz Michael 12 February 2018 Elon Musk says the new SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket crushes its competition on cost CNBC Archived from the original on 3 July 2018 Retrieved 24 May 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k Falcon Heavy SpaceX 16 November 2012 Archived from the original on 6 April 2017 Retrieved 10 April 2020 a b c d e Harwood William 6 February 2018 SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch puts on spectacular show in maiden flight CBS News Archived from the original on 6 February 2018 Retrieved 6 February 2018 Falcon 9 SpaceX 16 November 2012 Archived from the original on 1 May 2013 Retrieved 29 September 2013 Ahmad Taseer Ammar Ahmed Kamara Ahmed Lim Gabriel Magowan Caitlin Todorova Blaga Tse Yee Cheung White Tom The Mars Society Inspiration Mars International Student Design Competition PDF Mars Society Archived PDF from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 24 October 2015 Musk Elon elonmusk 17 December 2015 340 F in this case Deep cryo increases density and amplifies rocket performance First time anyone has gone this low for O2 RP 1 chilled from 70 F to 20 F Tweet Retrieved 19 December 2015 via Twitter a b c d Falcon 9 Overview SpaceX 8 May 2010 Archived from the original on 5 August 2014 a b Elon Musk s huge Falcon Heavy rocket set for launch BBC News 6 February 2018 Archived from the original on 6 February 2018 Retrieved 6 February 2018 SpaceX 10 August 2018 Arabsat 6A Mission archived from the original on 11 April 2019 retrieved 11 April 2019 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 Pasztor Andy Elon Musk Says SpaceX s New Falcon Heavy Rocket Unlikely to Carry Astronauts The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on 6 February 2018 Retrieved 6 February 2018 Foust Jeff 29 September 2017 Musk unveils revised version of giant interplanetary launch system SpaceNews Archived from the original on 8 October 2017 Retrieved 3 May 2018 An Interview with Elon Musk HobbySpace 25 August 2003 Archived from the original on 12 February 2022 Retrieved 14 February 2022 Musk Elon Koenigsmann Hans Gurevich Gwynne 14 August 2003 The Falcon Launch Vehicle An Attempt at Making Access to Space More Affordable Reliable and Pleasant 17th Annual AIAA USU Conference on Small Satellites Logan Utah Utah State University Archived from the original on 14 June 2020 Retrieved 14 June 2020 Gaskill Braddock 10 October 2005 SpaceX reveals Falcon 1 Halloween date NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 31 January 2019 Retrieved 31 January 2019 Clark Stephen 5 April 2011 SpaceX enters the realm of heavy lift rocketry Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 23 August 2013 Retrieved 13 September 2017 Wall Mike 20 July 2017 SpaceX s Big New Rocket May Crash on 1st Flight Elon Musk Says Space com Archived from the original on 21 July 2017 Retrieved 21 July 2017 a b c Elon Musk 19 July 2017 Elon Musk ISS R amp D Conference video ISS R amp D Conference Washington D C U S Event occurs at 36 00 39 50 Archived from the original on 13 November 2021 Retrieved 5 February 2018 via YouTube 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 it s 2 1 2 times the payload capability of Falcon 9 Musk Elon 20 December 2005 June 2005 through September 2005 Update SpaceX Archived from the original on 4 July 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Boozer R D 10 March 2014 Rocket reusability a driver of economic growth The Space Review 2014 Archived from the original on 6 April 2015 Retrieved 25 March 2014 Musk Elon 16 August 2008 Transcript Elon Musk on the future of SpaceX shitelonsays com Mars Society Conference Boulder Colorado Archived from the original on 15 March 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 a b c F9 Dragon Preparing for ISS Press release SpaceX 15 August 2011 Archived from the original on 15 November 2016 Retrieved 14 November 2016 de Selding Peter B 20 March 2015 SpaceX Aims To Debut New Version of Falcon 9 this Summer SpaceNews Retrieved 23 March 2015 SpaceX 28 December 2016 Falcon Heavy interstage being prepped at the rocket factory When FH flies next year it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two Instagram Archived from the original on 3 December 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Falcon Heavy Test Stand Archived from the original on 26 August 2011 Retrieved 6 May 2013 Berger Eric 9 May 2017 SpaceX proves Falcon Heavy is indeed a real rocket with a test firing Ars Technica Archived from the original on 9 May 2017 Retrieved 9 May 2017 SpaceX 9 May 2017 First static fire test of a Falcon Heavy center core completed at our McGregor TX rocket development facility last week Tweet Retrieved 13 May 2017 via Twitter SpaceX 1 September 2017 Falcon Heavy s 3 first stage cores have all completed testing at our rocket development facility in McGregor Texas Tweet Retrieved 1 September 2017 via Twitter a b SpaceX performs crucial test fire of Falcon Heavy potentially paving way for launch The Verge Archived from the original on 24 January 2018 Retrieved 24 January 2018 U S SpaceX to build heavy lift low cost rocket Reuters 5 April 2011 Archived from the original on 8 April 2011 Retrieved 5 April 2011 SpaceX announces launch date for the world s most powerful rocket Press release SpaceX 5 April 2011 Archived from the original on 28 July 2017 Retrieved 28 July 2017 Foust Jeff 2 September 2015 First Falcon Heavy Launch Scheduled for Spring SpaceNews Archived from the original on 2 September 2017 Retrieved 3 September 2015 Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 1 January 2016 Retrieved 1 January 2016 Foust Jeff 4 February 2016 SpaceX seeks to accelerate Falcon 9 production and launch rates this year SpaceNews Archived from the original on 9 February 2016 Retrieved 6 February 2016 Bergin Chris 9 August 2016 Pad hardware changes preview new era for Space Coast NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 17 August 2016 Retrieved 16 August 2016 SpaceX is pushing back the target launch date for its first Mars mission The Verge 17 February 2017 Archived from the original on 14 September 2017 Retrieved 19 February 2017 Clark Stephen 14 October 2017 Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 24 December 2016 Retrieved 15 October 2017 Debut of SpaceX s Falcon Heavy rocket now planned early next year spaceflightnow com Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Plait Phil 2 December 2017 Elon Musk On the Roadster to Mars Syfy Wire Archived from the original on 4 December 2017 Retrieved 7 December 2017 Musk says Tesla car will fly on first Falcon Heavy launch SpaceNews com 2 December 2017 Archived from the original on 3 December 2017 Retrieved 3 December 2017 Knapp Alex 22 December 2017 Elon Musk Shows Off Photos of a Tesla Roadster Getting Prepped to Go to Mars Forbes Archived from the original on 23 December 2017 Retrieved 23 December 2017 Kelly Emre 17 January 2018 SpaceX Falcon Heavy status updates Now targeting Friday for test fire at KSC Florida Today Archived from the original on 4 November 2018 Retrieved 18 January 2018 Grush Loren 22 January 2018 Shutdown means SpaceX can t test its Falcon Heavy rocket creating further delays The Verge archived from the original on 22 January 2018 retrieved 22 January 2018 Kapatos Dennis 24 January 2018 01 24 2018 Historic Falcon 9 Heavy Test Fire archived from the original on 24 January 2018 retrieved 24 January 2018 elonmusk 27 January 2018 Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on February 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy Easy viewing from the public causeway Tweet via Twitter SpaceX 6 February 2018 Continue to monitor the upper level wind shear New T 0 is 3 45 p m EST 20 45 UTC Tweet via Twitter elonmusk 6 February 2018 Falcon Heavy side cores have landed at SpaceX s Landing Zones 1 and 2 Tweet via Twitter SpaceX Landed the Falcon Heavy s Two Boosters But Its Core Clipped Its Drone Ship at 300 MPH Gizmodo Archived from the original on 7 February 2018 Retrieved 7 February 2018 a b The middle booster of SpaceX s Falcon Heavy rocket failed to land on its drone ship The Verge Archived from the original on 7 February 2018 Retrieved 7 February 2018 Elon Musk s Tesla overshot Mars orbit but it won t reach the asteroid belt as claimed The Verge Archived from the original on 8 February 2018 Retrieved 27 February 2018 A year after the colossal SpaceX rocket s debut Falcon Heavy has high value uses despite skepticism CNBC 8 February 2019 Archived from the original on 2 November 2019 Retrieved 2 November 2019 a b c SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch with Arabsat reset for Tuesday UPI Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 a b c d e Rideshare mission for U S military confirmed as second Falcon Heavy launch Archived March 3 2018 at the Wayback Machine Stephen Clark Spaceflight Now 1 March 2018 a b Clark Stephen 30 August 2016 SES agrees to launch satellite on flight proven Falcon 9 rocket Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 31 August 2016 Retrieved 31 August 2016 a b de Selding Peter B 3 November 2016 Inmarsat juggling two launches says SpaceX to return to flight in December SpaceNews Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Wattles Jackie 1 November 2022 SpaceX s Falcon Heavy rocket returns to flight after three years CNN Archived from the original on 1 November 2022 Retrieved 1 November 2022 Erwin Sandra 1 November 2022 SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches first U S national security mission Space News Archived from the original on 16 January 2023 Retrieved 5 December 2022 Archived copy Archived from the original on 16 January 2023 Retrieved 16 January 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link NASA head rules out SpaceX rockets for 2024 moon mission CNET Archived from the original on 12 July 2019 Retrieved 2 November 2019 Grush Loren 18 July 2019 NASA s daunting to do list for sending people back to the Moon The Verge Archived from the original on 7 December 2019 Retrieved 28 August 2019 As NASA tries to land on the Moon it has plenty of rockets to choose from 10 October 2019 Archived from the original on 2 November 2019 Retrieved 2 November 2019 a b c NASA Northrop Grumman Finalize Moon Outpost Living Quarters Contract NASA Press release 9 July 2021 Archived from the original on 9 July 2021 Retrieved 9 July 2021 Falcon Heavy Overview SpaceX 2020 Archived from the original on 17 June 2020 Retrieved 12 August 2020 SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World s Most Powerful Rocket SpaceRef com 5 April 2011 Archived from the original on 24 July 2013 Retrieved 10 April 2011 Octaweb SpaceX 12 April 2013 Archived from the original on 3 July 2017 Retrieved 2 August 2013 a b Landing Legs SpaceX 12 April 2013 Archived from the original on 3 July 2017 Retrieved 2 August 2013 Kremer Ken 27 January 2015 Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch and Booster Recovery Featured in Cool New SpaceX Animation Universe Today Archived from the original on 25 August 2017 Retrieved 12 February 2015 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Nield George C April 2014 Draft Environmental Impact Statement SpaceX Texas Launch Site PDF Report Vol 1 Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation pp 2 3 Archived from the original on 7 December 2013 a b Simberg Rand 8 February 2012 Elon Musk on SpaceX s Reusable Rocket Plans Popular Mechanics Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 7 February 2012 a b c d e f g h i j Fiche Technique Falcon Heavy Technical data sheet Falcon Heavy Espace amp Exploration in French No 51 June 2019 pp 62 63 Archived from the original on 16 June 2019 Retrieved 16 June 2019 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation PDF NASA October 2009 Archived PDF from the original on 13 December 2011 Retrieved 24 June 2017 a b Clark Stephen 5 April 2011 SpaceX enters the realm of heavy lift rocketry Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 23 August 2013 Retrieved 4 June 2012 a b Space Exploration Technologies Corporation Falcon Heavy SpaceX 3 December 2011 Retrieved 3 December 2011 permanent dead link SpaceX Brochure PDF Archived from the original PDF on 9 August 2011 Retrieved 14 June 2011 a b SpaceX Press Conference SpaceX Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 16 April 2011 Feasibility of a Dragon derived Mars lander for scientific and human precursor investigations PDF 8m net 31 October 2011 Archived PDF from the original on 16 June 2012 Retrieved 14 May 2012 Capabilities amp Services SpaceX 2013 Archived from the original on 7 October 2013 Retrieved 25 March 2014 elonmusk 12 February 2018 Side boosters landing on droneships amp center expended is only 10 performance penalty vs fully expended Cost is only slightly higher than an expended F9 so around US 95 million Tweet via Twitter Elon Musk 29 September 2017 Becoming a Multiplanet Species video Adelaide Australia SpaceX Archived from the original on 13 November 2021 Retrieved 17 December 2018 via YouTube Bergin Chris 12 January 2009 Musk ambition SpaceX aim for fully reusable Falcon 9 NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 5 July 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Fairing Recovery Attempts SpaceXFleet Archived from the original on 19 June 2020 Retrieved 13 June 2020 Clark Stephen 31 March 2017 SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost cutting technology Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 9 June 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 elonmusk 31 March 2017 Considering trying to bring upper stage back on Falcon Heavy demo flight for full reusability Odds of success low but maybe worth a shot Tweet Retrieved 24 June 2017 via Twitter ULA Delta IV Reference Page United Launch Alliance Archived from the original on 8 February 2018 Retrieved 7 February 2018 Strickland John K Jr September 2011 The SpaceX Falcon Heavy Booster National Space Society Archived from the original on 17 January 2013 Retrieved 24 November 2012 SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World s Most Powerful Rocket SpaceX 5 April 2011 Archived from the original on 24 July 2013 Retrieved 5 April 2011 elonmusk 1 May 2016 Does FH expendable performance include crossfeed No cross feed It would help performance but is not needed for these numbers Tweet Retrieved 24 June 2017 via Twitter What is the environmental impact of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch BBC Science Focus 13 February 2018 Archived from the original on 27 June 2019 Retrieved 29 June 2019 Let s talk about Elon Musk launching his Tesla into space Archived June 30 2019 at the Wayback Machine Jason Davis The Planetary Society 5 February 2018 Purdue University 27 February 2018 Tesla in space could carry bacteria from Earth phys org Archived from the original on 27 February 2018 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Szondy David 28 February 2018 The Tesla Roadster could be the dirtiest manmade object in space New Atlas Archived from the original on 1 March 2018 Retrieved 28 February 2018 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Adoption of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Boost back and Landing of Falcon Heavy Boosters at Landing Zone 1 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Florida PDF FAA 28 November 2017 Archived PDF from the original on 5 July 2019 Retrieved 5 July 2019 Testimony of Elon Musk 5 May 2004 Space Shuttle and the Future of Space Launch Vehicles SpaceRef Archived from the original on 9 September 2012 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Sietzen Frank Jr 18 March 2001 Spacelift Washington International Space Transportation Association Faltering The myth of US 10 000 per pound SpaceRef Archived from the original on 13 September 2012 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Capabilities and Services 28 November 2012 Archived from the original on 7 October 2013 Retrieved 28 September 2013 Retrieved 25 March 2014 Capabilities and Services SpaceX 3 May 2016 Archived from the original on 2 July 2014 SpaceX SpaceX Archived from the original on 7 March 2011 Retrieved 4 June 2020 Capabilities amp Services PDF SpaceX 2022 Archived PDF from the original on 22 March 2022 Retrieved 22 March 2022 Dodson Gerelle 18 July 2022 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Roman Space Telescope NASA Archived from the original on 20 July 2022 Retrieved 21 July 2022 Delta IV ulalaunch com United Launch Alliance Archived from the original on 8 February 2018 Retrieved 4 June 2020 SpaceX set to launch massive satellite on July 2nd 3 flights in 9 days teslarati com 27 June 2017 Archived from the original on 17 May 2018 Retrieved 16 May 2018 Inmarsat juggling two launches says SpaceX to return to flight in December SpaceNews 3 November 2016 Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 10 December 2016 Foust Jeff 5 February 2018 SpaceX set for Falcon Heavy debut SpaceNews Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 6 February 2018 a b Berger Eric 29 January 2019 After government re opened SpaceX sought two Falcon Heavy permits Ars Technica Archived from the original on 1 February 2019 Retrieved 2 February 2019 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Draft Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Falcon Launches at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station PDF FAA 2020 Archived PDF from the original on 27 February 2020 Retrieved 24 October 2020 Falcon Heavy Block 5 Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 11 April 2019 Retrieved 14 December 2019 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Tesla Roadster AKA Starman 2018 017A ssd jpl nasa gov NASA 1 March 2018 Archived from the original on 22 December 2018 Retrieved 15 March 2018 Chang Kenneth 6 February 2018 Falcon Heavy in a Roar of Thunder Carries SpaceX s Ambition Into Orbit The New York Times Archived from the original on 16 February 2018 Retrieved 6 February 2018 Musk Elon elonmusk 1 December 2017 Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity Destination is Mars orbit Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn t blow up on ascent Tweet Retrieved 2 December 2017 via Twitter SpaceX 22 December 2017 A Red Car for the Red Planet instagram com p BdA94kVgQhU Tweet Retrieved 8 January 2018 via Twitter FOX 11 April 2019 Launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket pushed to Thursday WOFL Archived from the original on 11 April 2019 Retrieved 11 April 2019 Arabsat 6A Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 16 July 2019 Retrieved 13 April 2019 Arabsat CEO Falcon Heavy gives our satellite extra life SpaceNews 11 April 2019 Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 12 April 2019 Clark Stephen 11 April 2019 SpaceX s Falcon Heavy successful in commercial debut Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 a b Foust Jeff 19 December 2018 NASA looking to launch delayed space science missions in early 2019 SpaceNews Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 8 February 2018 Graham William 11 April 2019 SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches Arabsat 6A NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Kelly Emre 15 April 2019 SpaceX Falcon Heavy core booster lost to rough seas en route to Port Canaveral Florida Today Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 16 April 2019 a b Falcon Heavy and Starlink headline SpaceX s upcoming manifest NASASpaceFlight com 6 March 2019 Archived from the original on 30 March 2019 Retrieved 2 April 2019 SpaceX to Launch Falcon Heavy Rocket Nasa Kennedy Space Center 5 35pm YouTube Archived from the original on 17 April 2019 Retrieved 18 April 2019 Rocket Launch Viewing at Cape Canaveral Where amp How to Watch View and See Atlas 5 Delta 4 amp Falcon 9 Launches launchphotography com Archived from the original on 9 February 2016 Retrieved 20 June 2019 Preview Succeed or fail SpaceX s Falcon Heavy test sure to be a The Planetary Society Archived from the original on 21 September 2020 Retrieved 10 September 2020 a b c Lightsail Planetary Society Archived from the original on 8 May 2015 Retrieved 21 April 2015 a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain About Green Propellant Infusion Mission GPIM NASA 2014 Archived from the original on 24 April 2013 Retrieved 26 February 2014 Green Propellant Infusion Mission GPIM Ball Aerospace 2014 Archived from the original on 24 April 2013 Retrieved 26 February 2014 The Green Propellant Infusion Mission GPIM PDF Ball Aerospace amp Technologies Corp March 2013 Archived from the original PDF on 20 December 2015 Retrieved 26 February 2014 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Deep Space Atomic Clock DSAC Overview Archived April 12 2019 at the Wayback Machine NASA Accessed on December 10 2018 General Atomics Completes Ready For Launch Testing of Orbital Test Bed Satellite Archived December 14 2018 at the Wayback Machine General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems press release on April 3 2018 SpaceX Awarded Two EELV Class Missions From The United States Air Force SpaceX 5 December 2012 Archived from the original on 16 August 2013 Retrieved 24 June 2017 FORMOSAT 7 COSMIC 2 Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 3 June 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 a b Oculus ASR Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 1 March 2016 Retrieved 15 March 2016 Falcon overloaded with knowledge Falcon Heavy rocket under the Space Test Program 2 scheduled in October 2016 Spaceflights News Archived from the original on 9 July 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 SpaceX Falcon Heavy center core narrowly miss Inverse Archived from the original on 28 June 2019 Retrieved 28 June 2019 USSF 44 Next Spaceflight Archived from the original on 12 November 2020 Retrieved 5 October 2022 Stephen Clark After a three year wait SpaceX s Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 5 October 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2022 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Air Force awards US 739 million launch service contracts Air Force Space Command 19 February 2019 Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 SpaceX Wins Potential US 297 million Contract for USAF NRO Satellite Launch Services 20 February 2019 Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 US Space Force TETRA 1 Satellite Prepared for Launch After 15 month Integration Parabolic Arc Archived from the original on 13 August 2020 Retrieved 10 September 2020 Ralph Eric 9 September 2020 SpaceX s next Falcon Heavy launch slips into 2021 Teslarati Archived from the original on 11 September 2020 Retrieved 10 September 2020 USSF 44 centre core lacks landing gear and grid fins Twitter Archived from the original on 16 September 2021 Retrieved 16 September 2021 Stephen Clark After a three year wait SpaceX s Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 5 October 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2022 The core stage was expended on the USSF 44 while the rocket s two side boosters returned to near simultaneous landings in SpaceX s recovery zone at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station A military spokesperson said in 2021 that the Falcon Heavy s two side boosters on the USSF 44 mission would target landing on two SpaceX drone ships floating downrange in the Atlantic Ocean Clark Stephen 23 May 2022 Launch of NASA s Psyche asteroid mission delayed to late September Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 2 July 2022 Retrieved 3 September 2022 One of those missions USSF 44 had been tentatively scheduled for late June but has been postponed indefinitely All of the delays to the upcoming Falcon Heavy missions have been caused by payload issues Ralph Eric 11 October 2022 SpaceX s first Falcon Heavy launch in three years eyes late October liftoff TESLARATI Archived from the original on 11 October 2022 Retrieved 11 October 2022 Stephen Clark After a three year wait SpaceX s Falcon Heavy could launch again later this month Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 5 October 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2022 The Space Force said its USSF 67 mission which the military says will launch into geosynchronous orbit like USSF 44 is currently scheduled for January Space News 9 November 2020 Archived from the original on 22 February 2021 Retrieved 10 November 2020 Clark Stephen Falcon Heavy rocket on the launch pad for one of SpaceX s most complex missions Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 1 January 2023 Retrieved 1 November 2022 The next military mission to fly on a Falcon Heavy rocket named USSF 67 will launch the LDPE 3 spacecraft and a Space Force communications satellite in tandem That launch is scheduled for January and will use the same Falcon Heavy side boosters flown on the USSF 44 mission assuming a successful recovery on the landing zones at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station the Space Force said Falcon Heavy could launch three U S Space Force missions in 2022 spacenews com 31 October 2021 Archived from the original on 6 February 2022 Retrieved 31 October 2021 Rainbow Jason 23 September 2021 Next commercial Falcon Heavy mission to launch debut Astranis satellite SpaceNews Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 23 September 2021 Application for Fixed Satellite Service by Astranis Bermuda Ltd Attachment Narrative PDF Astranis Bermuda FCC 7 June 2021 Archived PDF from the original on 10 June 2021 Retrieved 10 June 2021 Arabsat Falcon Heavy mission slated for December January timeframe SpaceNews 1 June 2018 Archived from the original on 3 June 2018 Retrieved 12 June 2019 Clark Stephen Viasat confirms SpaceX s Falcon Heavy will launch next gen broadband satellite Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 Viasat SpaceX Enter Contract for a Future ViaSat 3 Satellite Launch Viasat 25 October 2018 Archived from the original on 25 October 2018 Retrieved 25 October 2018 Falcon Heavy USSF 52 nextspaceflight com Archived from the original on 25 October 2022 Retrieved 9 May 2022 Air Force Awards AFSPC 52 Launch Services Contract to SpaceX Air Force Space Command 21 June 2018 Archived from the original on 28 June 2018 Retrieved 9 September 2021 Contracts For Aug 20 2021 defense gov 20 August 2021 Archived from the original on 20 July 2022 Retrieved 20 July 2022 Space Exploration Technologies Corp Hawthorne California has been awarded a 19 226 072 bilateral modification P00009 to previously awarded Space Force 52 contract FA8811 18 C 0003 the total cumulative face value of the contract is 149 226 072 Baylor Michael Falcon Heavy EchoStar 24 Jupiter 3 Archived from the original on 7 November 2022 Retrieved 6 January 2023 a b Krebs Gunter 6 May 2022 Jupiter 3 EchoStar 24 Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 17 May 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2022 a b NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission JPL NASA 28 October 2022 Archived from the original on 8 November 2022 Retrieved 28 October 2022 a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Psyche Mission NASA 28 February 2020 Archived from the original on 28 February 2020 Retrieved 28 February 2020 SMSR Integrated Master Schedule PDF Office of Safety and Mission Assurance NASA 7 June 2021 Archived from the original PDF on 14 June 2021 Retrieved 9 June 2021 Margetta Robert 10 September 2021 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for GOES U Mission NASA Archived from the original on 11 September 2021 Retrieved 10 September 2021 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Europa Clipper Mission Press release NASA 23 July 2021 Archived from the original on 23 July 2021 Retrieved 24 July 2021 The Flagship Europa Clipper Inches Forward Shackled to the Earth Supercluster Archived from the original on 10 November 2021 Retrieved 6 December 2021 NASA to use commercial launch vehicle for Europa Clipper SpaceNews 11 February 2021 Archived from the original on 16 February 2021 Retrieved 6 December 2021 Colaprete Anthony 17 August 2020 VIPER A lunar water reconnaissance mission PDF NASA p 2 Archived PDF from the original on 20 August 2020 Retrieved 13 April 2021 NASA Replans CLPS Delivery of VIPER to 2024 to Reduce Risk NASA 18 July 2022 Archived from the original on 18 July 2022 Retrieved 19 July 2022 Colaprete Anthony 13 April 2021 Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA s VIPER lunar rover SpaceNews Archived from the original on 19 April 2021 Retrieved 13 April 2021 Foust Jeff 13 April 2021 Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA s VIPER lunar rover SpaceNews Archived from the original on 19 April 2021 Retrieved 13 April 2021 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain NASA Assessments of Major Projects April 2020 PDF US Government Accountability Office Archived PDF from the original on 1 May 2020 Retrieved 13 August 2020 Clark Stephen NASA plans to launch first two Gateway elements on same rocket Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 6 May 2020 Retrieved 30 September 2020 a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Potter Sean 9 February 2021 NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost NASA Archived from the original on 9 February 2021 Retrieved 9 February 2021 Space News 12 November 2020 Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 9 February 2021 a b Clark Stephen NASA picks SpaceX to deliver cargo to Gateway station in lunar orbit Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 28 March 2020 Retrieved 28 March 2020 Sheetz Michael 27 March 2020 SpaceX s most powerful rocket will send NASA cargo to the moon s orbit to supply astronauts CNBC Archived from the original on 30 March 2020 Retrieved 28 March 2020 a b SpaceX wins NASA commercial cargo contract for lunar Gateway SpaceNews 27 March 2020 Archived from the original on 29 March 2020 Retrieved 27 March 2020 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Roman Space Telescope NASA Press release 19 July 2022 Archived from the original on 7 August 2022 Retrieved 19 July 2022 NASA Introduces New Wider Set of Eyes on the Universe 18 February 2016 Archived from the original on 22 February 2016 Retrieved 20 July 2022 The observatory will begin operations after travelling to a gravitational balance point known as Earth Sun L2 Henry Caleb 1 June 2018 Arabsat Falcon Heavy mission slated for December January timeframe SpaceNews Archived from the original on 3 June 2018 Retrieved 2 June 2018 Doherty Caitlin 4 June 2018 First EVER commercial launch via Elon Musk s SpaceX could happen before end of this year express co uk Archived from the original on 12 April 2019 Retrieved 12 April 2019 SpaceX Announces First Commercial Contract For Launch In 2013 Red Orbit 30 May 2012 Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 15 December 2012 Intelsat Signs First Commercial Falcon Heavy Launch Agreement With SpaceX Press release SpaceX 29 May 2012 Archived from the original on 7 August 2013 Retrieved 16 December 2012 Falcon 9 SpaceX 16 November 2012 Archived from the original on 5 August 2014 Retrieved 30 August 2016 de Selding Peter B 2 July 2014 Inmarsat Books Falcon Heavy for up to Three Launches SpaceNews Archived from the original on 11 August 2014 Retrieved 6 August 2014 Foust Jeff 8 December 2016 Inmarsat shifts satellite from SpaceX to Arianespace SpaceNews Archived from the original on 1 October 2021 Retrieved 10 December 2016 Krebs Gunter Inmarsat 6 F1 2 Gunter s Space Page Archived from the original on 9 June 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 David Leonard 13 April 2016 Spacecraft Powered by Green Propellant to Launch in 2017 Space com Archived from the original on 15 April 2016 Retrieved 15 April 2016 Foust Jeff 9 August 2016 SpaceX offers large rockets for small satellites SpaceNews Archived from the original on 10 August 2016 Retrieved 10 August 2016 DSAC Deep Space Atomic Clock NASA Earth Observation Resources 2014 Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2015 Gruss Mike 15 April 2015 SpaceX Sends Air Force an Outline for Falcon Heavy Certification SpaceNews Archived from the original on 16 April 2015 Retrieved 21 April 2015 Davis Jason 11 May 2018 LightSail 2 launch slips to Fall The Planetary Society Archived from the original on 12 May 2018 Retrieved 13 May 2018 Space Force awards National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch service contracts to ULA SpaceX United States Air Force 7 August 2020 Archived from the original on 5 December 2022 Retrieved 5 December 2022 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Green Propellant Infusion Mission Project PDF NASA July 2013 Archived PDF from the original on 3 March 2014 Retrieved 26 February 2014 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Deep Space Atomic Clock Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA 27 April 2015 Archived from the original on 10 December 2015 Retrieved 28 October 2015 Eric Ralph SpaceX Falcon Heavy with Block 5 rockets targets November launch debut Archived December 22 2018 at the Wayback Machine Teslarati A SpaceX surprise Falcon Heavy booster landing to smash distance record 19 June 2019 Archived from the original on 20 June 2019 Retrieved 20 June 2019 Wall Mike 31 July 2011 Red Dragon Mission Mulled as Cheap Search for Mars Life Space com Archived from the original on 1 December 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2011 a b Bergin Chris 11 May 2015 Falcon Heavy enabler for Dragon solar system explorer NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 13 May 2015 Retrieved 12 May 2015 Elon Musk suggests SpaceX is scrapping its plans to land Dragon capsules on Mars The Verge 19 July 2017 Archived from the original on 31 July 2017 Clark Stephen NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station Spaceflight Now Archived from the original on 5 June 2019 Retrieved 31 January 2020 NASA plans to launch first two Gateway elements on same rocket 6 May 2020 Archived from the original on 6 May 2020 Retrieved 8 May 2020 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Assessments of Major Projects PDF gao gov GAO 2020 Archived PDF from the original on 1 May 2020 Retrieved 24 October 2020 Foust Jeff 28 February 2020 Falcon Heavy to launch NASA Psyche asteroid mission spacenews com Archived from the original on 1 March 2020 Retrieved 29 February 2020 Shieber Jonathan 29 February 2020 SpaceX wins the 117 million launch contract to explore Psyche s heavy metal asteroid TechCrunch Archived from the original on 29 February 2020 Retrieved 29 February 2020 Moon Mariella 29 February 2020 NASA s Psyche asteroid mission will use a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Engadget Archived from the original on 29 February 2020 Retrieved 29 February 2020 Potter Sean 23 July 2021 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission NASA Archived from the original on 8 November 2022 Retrieved 16 October 2022 External links EditFalcon Heavy official page Falcon Heavy flight animation February 2018 Elon Musk on how Falcon Heavy will change space travel The Verge YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Falcon Heavy amp oldid 1134392081, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.