SpaceX Misses NASA’s 56 Year Old Record But Provides Spectacular Falcon Heavy Launch Views
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After multiple delays, SpaceX's largest operational rocket, the Falcon Heavy, took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida late at night local time yesterday. The launch marked the Falcon Heavy's seventh overall flight and the massive rocket's third flight this year. Falcon Heavy's only flight in 2022 was the first mission for the rocket since 2019, and looking forward, there might be a couple more launches this year and in the next.
Today's nighttime launch provided spectacular visuals of the rocket's two side boosters after they separated from the center stage and landed back on land. The mission was for SpaceX's internet rival EchoStar which provides satellite internet services through Hughes Network systems. Unlike SpaceX's Starlink satellites, which fly at lower altitudes and are much smaller, the EchoStar satellite launched today is the biggest communications satellite ever built. According to the company, when its solar panels are fully expanded, the spacecraft nears the length of a jetliner.
The Falcon Heavy is simply three Falcon 9 rockets joined together, but as a whole, the system is far more complex to operate and maintain when compared to SpaceX's workhorse. Unlike the Falcon 9, it is also not human-rated, meaning it can not carry astronauts or other passengers to space. However, the rocket carries a powerful punch and can generate more than five million pounds of thrust at peak levels post-liftoff.
Yesterday's launch occurred at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:04 pm local time. It came after SpaceX had tried to launch the Falcon Heavy earlier this week, but
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