Falcon Heavy – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Falcon Heavy test-fired at Kennedy Space Center

April 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired 27 main engines on a Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday in Florida, clearing a hurdle before installing three commercial communications satellites on the launcher for a mission to geostationary orbit later this month.

Preparations underway for SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch

April 12, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy mission, set for April 18 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will launch a powerhouse bus-sized broadband satellite for Viasat into a high-altitude circular geostationary orbit, a demanding flight profile that will require disposal of all three of the rocket’s reusable boosters.

Falcon Heavy hauls military satellites to high orbit after spectacular sunset launch

January 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

A U.S. military data relay satellite and a rideshare platform with its own suite of payloads rocketed into a sunset sky over Florida’s Space Coast Sunday on a Falcon Heavy launcher, putting on a dazzling show for local residents and visitors as the rocket’s two side boosters returned to Cape Canaveral for landing.

Live coverage: SpaceX’s fifth Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off at twilight

January 14, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s fifth Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:56 p.m. EST (2255 GMT) Sunday with a U.S. Space Force communications satellite and a rideshare spacecraft hosting five military payloads. The Falcon Heavy’s two reusable side boosters returned to Cape Canaveral for landings about eight minutes after launch. The launch was delayed from Saturday after preparations ran behind schedule.

U.S. military payloads mated to SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for weekend launch

January 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

Two U.S. military satellites set to ride SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket into geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles above Earth were mated with their launch vehicle Friday at Kennedy Space Center ahead of a scheduled sunset launch this weekend.

Northrop Grumman heralds converted adapter rings as rideshare solution for military payloads

January 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Space Force say converted launch vehicle payload adapter rings, upgraded with power and propulsion to create full-fledged satellites, are proving effective in more rapidly delivering military instruments and sensors to orbit. Another such mission is set to launch on SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy rocket.

Live coverage: Falcon Heavy engines test-fired at Kennedy Space Center

January 10, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired the 27 engines on its next Falcon Heavy rocket at 12:45 p.m. EST (1745 GMT) Tuesday in preparation for a launch later this week for the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon Heavy static fire occurred on pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

Launch preps underway for first of up to five Falcon Heavy missions this year

January 7, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is set to kick off a busy week of launch preparations at Kennedy Space Center for the first of five planned Falcon Heavy rocket missions this year, targeting a dusk departure no earlier than Friday evening from Launch Complex 39A on a flight for the U.S. Space Force.

Military officials forecast 87 launches from Florida’s Space Coast in 2023

January 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force is preparing for as many as 87 launches from Florida’s Space Coast in 2023, including dozens more SpaceX missions and the expected debuts of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Relativity’s Terran 1 rockets.

Falcon Heavy ‘simply outstanding’ on SpaceX’s first launch to geosynch orbit

November 1, 2022 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force confirmed Tuesday that a Falcon Heavy launcher placed two main payloads and at least three smaller rideshare satellites directly into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit after liftoff from Florida, an achievement that checks off one of the final unproven capabilities for SpaceX’s rocket family.