SpaceX first launched the super-heavy rocket, the Falcon Heavy
SpaceX conducted the first launch of super-heavy carrier rocket Falcon Heavy. It has been broadcast on the YouTube channel of the company.
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The launch occurred at 23:45 Moscow time from launch complex 39A at Kennedy Space center in Florida. Starting the launch window opened at 21:30 Moscow time and the company several times to reschedule the launch due to strong winds.
In SpaceX’s new Falcon called the world’s most powerful rocket. Its maximum capacity — nearly 64 tons to Mars the rocket will be able to deliver about 17 tons of cargo.
The rocket sent the payload — the Tesla Roadster is on an elongated orbit that intersects the trajectory of the movements of Earth and Mars. The probability to bring it directly into interplanetary orbit, Musk called extremely low. In the case of the success of this project in 2018 will be another two launches of the Falcon Heavy. We are talking about missions Arabsat 6A (Saudi Arabia) and Space Test Program 2 (for the USAF).
Go go starman #SpaceOddity #Bowieforever #spacex pic.twitter.com/Z0ZCJ8cH7P
— DrivingTheNation (@drivingthenatio) 6 Feb 2018
Structurally, the first stage of the Falcon Heavy consists of a Central unit and a pair of side boosters, which is a upgraded heavy first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. The cost of launching heavy missiles is estimated at 90-120 million dollars.
Falcon Heavy side cores have landed at SpaceX”s Landing Zones 1 and 2. pic.twitter.com/oMBqizqnpI
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) 6 Feb 2018
For comparison, the Delta IV launch company, ULA is 164-400 million dollars. This missile is still the most load-lifting in the world, its maximum load is approximately 29 tons.
“The Falcon Heavy is capable of lifting two times more for a quarter of the cost (compared to the Delta IV — approx. “Tapes.ru”), noted in a conversation with Bloomberg consultant aerospace company AlixPartners Luigi Peluso’s. — If it will work, this means opportunities for lunar program, which has been on the long agenda of Washington and NASA”.
For the lunar program of the USA, worked from 1961 to 1972, used the rocket Saturn V. It can output to low-earth orbit of up to 140 tons of cargo launches of the Saturn V was stopped in 1973, including due to high cost.