SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is announced to launch on February 6. Elon Musk, the CEO, made it official on Saturday. The rocket is said to be the world’s most powerful rocket.
“Aiming for the first flight of Falcon Heavy on Feb 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway.” Elon Musk posted it on Twitter. The rocket is finally launching after almost five years of delay.
“Falcon Heavy is a new rocket, and new rockets are a big deal,” said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “It’s a really big deal that showcases the tremendous innovation taking place in the commercial space sector.” In future, the rocket can send even paying tourist for a trip to the Moon.
The previous rocket, Falcon 9 had nine Merlin engines in its first stage, but Falcon Heavy has 27 Merlin engines. This makes the rocket really “heavy”. The weight of Falcon Heavy will be equivalent to roughly 18,747 airplanes.
“Falcon Heavy is twice the payload capacity for roughly one-quarter of the cost,” said Luigi Peluso, an aerospace and defense consultant. “It will have tremendous lift capacity. If Falcon Heavy works, you basically have a ride to the moon, which is consistent with the long-term agenda of Washington and NASA.”
The cost of each Falcon heavy flight is around $90 million, double the Falcon 9. “There are a lot of risks associated with Falcon Heavy, a real good chance that that vehicle doesn’t make it to orbit,” Musk said. “I’m saying full disclosure here, man.”
The rocket’s first passenger will be Musk’s own red car. Musk shared a picture on Instagram as well. “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.” Musk said.
“What the space world has learned is that you should not bet against Elon Musk. He might get his dates wrong and his timing wrong, but he can continue to string together these technological marvels. And if he can demonstrate Falcon Heavy, it makes the Mars mission that more credible.” said consultant Peluso.