Space & Astronomy

SpaceX successfully tests Falcon Heavy rocket

By T.K. Randall
May 10, 2017

Image: SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch (2018)
Credit: Daniel Oberhaus / CC BY 4.0 (adapted) Consisting of a large central booster with two smaller ones strapped to either side of it, the Falcon Heavy will be able to lift 140,000 pounds in to low-Earth orbit. By comparison the Falcon 9, which has already seen dozens of launches, is only able to carry 50,000 pounds.

Unlike the Falcon 9 however, the Falcon Heavy will also be able to send up to 37,000 pounds all the way to Mars, making it the ideal rocket for future deep space missions.Now in a newly released video, SpaceX has demonstrated the first successful test fire of the Falcon Heavy's center core at the firm's rocket development facility in Texas.

If things continue to go well then the first launch of the rocket is likely to go forward as scheduled later on this year. There are also plans to send two space tourists on a trip around the Moon as early as 2018 as well as further plans to send a spacecraft to Mars by 2020.


Source: The Verge

Tags: Heavy Falcon, SpaceX