Here in Central Florida, we’re used to the near-weekly launches of SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets from the Cape, but the Falcon Heavy is a different story and serves a different purpose. With a five-million-pound thrust, experts say the Heavy is the only rocket available other than the SLS large moon rocket that flew NASA’s first test mission. “It has the ability to put satellites into orbit that almost no other rocket can get close to,” he said. Heavy is three Falcon 9 boosters lined up and connected next to each other. And it’s a more complex rocket to launch and control: “There are more engines. There is more plumbing. But there’s more software, different control algorithms used to make sure the rocket stays on track. So, in some aspects, it’s probably more than three times as difficult,” Play said. And one of those difficult aspects is one of the most spectacular to watch as the two side boosters descend vertically from each other into landing zones one and two. The main booster payload is further will use all its fuel to get away, and that’s part of the reason Falcon Heavy is in a class by itself. Like the last mission in November, it will carry payloads for the US Space Force into deep GEO orbit. This will be Falcon Heavy’s fifth launch, and this it has four more planned for the year. What will make this launch even more spectacular, because it will happen a few minutes after sunset, we will see what is called the jellyfish effect. At high altitude, the rocket’s gas plume will be illuminated by sunlight while it is darker below the surface. The starting window opens on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Here in Central Florida, we’re used to the nearly weekly launches of SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets from the Cape, but the Falcon Heavy is a different story and serves a different purpose.
With a five-million-pound thrust, Heavy is the largest and most powerful rocket in existence other than NASA’s SLS large moon rocket, which has just completed its first test mission, experts say.
“It has the ability to put satellites into orbit that almost no other rocket can get close to,” Platt said.
Basically, Heavy is three Falcon 9 boosters lined up and connected together. And that makes it a much more complex missile to launch and control.
“There are more engines. There is more plumbing. But there’s more software, different control algorithms used to make sure the rocket stays on track. So in some aspects it’s probably three times harder,” Play said.
And one of those difficult aspects is one of the most spectacular aspects to watch as two side boosters descend into vertical landing zones within seconds of each other.
The main booster will use all of its fuel to carry the payload further, which is part of the reason the Falcon Heavy is in a class by itself. Like the last mission in November, it will carry payloads for the US Space Force into deep GEO orbit. This will be the fifth launch of the Falcon Heavy, and four more are planned for this year.
Making this release even more spectacular as it takes place just minutes after sunset, we’ll see what’s called the jellyfish effect.
At high altitude, the rocket’s gas plume will be illuminated by sunlight while it is darker underground.
The starting window opens on Saturday at 5 p.m.
