The launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday morning (November 1) will be a feast for the senses.
The Falcon Heavy Tuesday at 9:41 a.m. EDT (1341 GMT) is scheduled to blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on a mission to the United States Space Force Call USSF-44. Could you Watch the Falcon Heavy launch live at Space.comwith permission from SpaceX, or directly via the company.
There will be plenty to take in when the Falcon Heavy takes off from the platform, and with three first stage boosters returning to Earth shortly after liftoff. This procedure will have audio and visual components.
“Please be advised, tomorrow morning’s launch will be followed by a double sonic boom. This will happen shortly after launch, as the boosters land at Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” Space Launch Delta 45, the official account of the Patrick Space Force Base and Space Station Cape Canaveral Space Force, He said via Twitter (Opens in a new tab) Monday (31 October).
Related: Why hasn’t SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy since 2019
All three Falcon Heavy first stage boosters (they are modified versions of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 my rocket) is able to make a vertical landing shortly after takeoff, as the central core stage usually tries its luck on SpaceX Unmanned ship at sea.
But the primary booster when it is launched on Tuesday will move into the sea rather than attempt to land, because the USSF-44 is a very difficult task in terms of fuel. It sends a handful of payloads into a geostationary orbit, about 22,000 miles (35,400 km) above the planet, and the long journey will consume most of the primary propellant.
The initial payload that will rise on Tuesday, a spacecraft called USSF-44, is classified, so very little is known about it. Also flying on the mission is a small technology display satellite called Tetra-1, which was built for the Space Force by Millenium Space Systems’ Boeing Company. The USSF-44 is also likely to have several smaller cubes as well, According to EverydayAstronaut.com (Opens in a new tab).
The USSF-44 will be the Falcon Heavy’s fourth launch overall and the first since June 2019. The long dry run between liftoffs is primarily due to Delayed delivery of cargo on the missile statement. USSF-44, for example, was originally supposed to fly in late 2020, but the main satellite was not ready.
The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket flying today. But two more powerful launchers are scheduled to be launched soon. NASA prepares for launch Artemis 1her first mission, space launch system megarocket, on November 14. SpaceX is preparing for its first orbital test flight from Starshipthe giant vehicle it is developing to transport goods and people to the moon and Mars.
Mike Wall is the author of “Abroad (Opens in a new tab)Book (Great Grand Publishing House, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book about the search for an alien life. Follow him on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab) or on Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
“Certified music scholar. Freelance analyst. Social mediaholic. Hipster-friendly web nerd. Zombie buff.”