- November 3, 2022
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World’s Powerful SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket Attempted its First Launch Since 2019
The Falcon Heavy of SpaceX is a giant 3-split vehicle and is the strongest operational rocket in the world. On Tuesday, the rocket again traveled to the skies for the first time since mid-2019. The Falcon Heavy was launched from the Kennedy Space Center of NASA in Florida, at 9:41 a.m. ET. The rocket was carrying satellites to space in a secretive mission for the US military and was named “USSF-44”.
The Falcon Heavy first appeared in 2018 for testing purposes. The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, decided on a test payload launch for his personal Tesla Roadster. However, the vehicle still exists in space and takes a rectangular path around the sun. It pivots out insomuch as the orbital path of Mars. SpaceX has launched only 2 other Falcon Heavy missions in 2019, since its first test launch.
Falcon 9 Rocket has Completed 50 Missions in 2022
The first mission used to deliver a hulking TV and phone service satellite to orbit for Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat. The second mission was used for the US Department of Defense carrying a batch of experimental satellites. Meanwhile, the company hasn’t launched since 2019 because of the wide range of missions SpaceX doesn’t need Falcon Heavy’s boosted power.
It is noteworthy that the other side, the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX launched around 50 missions in 2022. The rocket exhibits a dramatic showing back on Earth with each Falcon Heavy launch. However, the company tried to recover 2 of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first-stage rocket boosters in Tuesday’s mission. The rocket boosters are large white combined sticks to provide the rockets boosted power for liftoff.
Two Boosters out of 3 Made their Landing on Ground Pads
The Space Systems Command of the US military issued a press release. It said the center booster was left to drop into the ocean according to plan and it will remain there. The plunge took place because it didn’t have more fuel to continue the safe journey home. Meanwhile, the right and left side boosters marked their signature synchronized landing on ground pads near the coastline of Florida.
Moreover, SpaceX has attempted landing 3 of the rocket’s boosters back on ground pads on land and on the sea. The key objective of their safe landing was to refurbish boosters, drop mission costs, and reuse them for future missions. But the company hasn’t yet achieved its target to retrieve all 3 boosters. The right & left side boosters made a place with coordinated landing on ground pads after the April 2019 mission.
SLS will Attempt its First Launch in November 2022
However, Falcon Heavy is the world’s strongest functional rocket. There are also 2 other powerful rockets waiting in the queue to obtain that title. NASA’s SLS or Space Launch System is currently scheduled to attempt its first launch in November 2022. The launch will deliver the unmanned Artemis 1 mission around the moon. The November launch will take place in the Vehicle Assembly Building of Kennedy Space Center.
Meanwhile, the location is a few miles from the planned Falcon Heavy’s flight launch pad. The Falcon Heavy provides 5 million pounds of thrust but SLS is expecting around 8.8 million pounds of thrust. This expected amount is 15% extra thrust compared to the Saturn V rockets, used earlier for moon landings. The company is in the final stages of attempting the first orbital launch of Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft.