SpaceX Fires 'World's Most Powerful Rocket' Falcon Heavy Again After 3 Years

After being grounded for more than three years, SpaceX has once again fired Falcon Heavy into the skies.

As reported first by Interesting Engineering, the world's most potent operational rocket, Falcon Heavy is composed of three modified Falcon 9 rockets fitted together. Two covert satellites for the U.S. Space Force were sent into orbit during the mission, known as USSF 44.

Most Powerful Operational Rocket

According to SpaceX, Falcon Heavy has a thrust of 5 million pounds at liftoff from three Falcon 9 boosters, making it the "most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two."

After the launch, two of the boosters teamed up to land back on Earth. SpaceX noted that the tandem touchdown marked the company's 150th and 151st successful landings of an orbital-class rocket on its live webcast.

SpaceX also noted that it was the first launch and landing of these particular rockets, and they will be prepared for a subsequent U.S. Space Force mission I n the coming months.

However, since the center booster made an intentional reentry and landed in the ocean, it will not be utilized again, as per Interesting Engineering.

The SpaceX YouTube video that is attached below allows you to watch the full launch. This launch webcast was shorter than a typical live stream because the U.S. Space Force instructed SpaceX not to post footage of its classified payload online.

However, the video still captured the launch process, the actual launch, and the booster landings.

USSF 44 Mission

Little is known about the satellites that the USSF 44 mission launched into orbit, except for the fact that they will be placed into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit.

One of the satellites is a microsatellite known as TETRA 1 that was created by Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems. The other satellite's name has not been made public.

This suggests that while they orbit at the same speed as Earth, they will traverse a specified region of space, according to Interesting Engineering.

The Falcon Heavy rocket has only flown three times before the launch, unlike SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which will break the record for the most consecutive flights in a year every time it launches between now and January.

USSF 44 mission marks the first Falcon Heavy launch since June 2019, the delay is likely attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. A mannequin named Starman and Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster went sent into orbit during the launch system's inaugural flight in February 2018.

Minutes after that momentous launch, SpaceX accomplished the first-ever simultaneous landing of two rockets at different landing grounds at Cape Canaveral.

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Written by Jace Dela Cruz