SpaceX Is Gearing Up to Launch World’s Most Powerful Operational Rocket

While NASA’s Space Launch System rocket is yet to fly, the interesting piece of information is that SpaceX is prepping the maiden flight of its next-generation Super Heavy space vehicle. Falcon Heavy rocket is tipped to be the company’s most powerful rocket in use today. It seems to be just days away from heading skyward on its fourth mission.

SpaceX to Launch Falcon Heavy rocket

Reports claim that SpaceX is currently targeting Monday, October 31, to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In addition to that, the mission will deploy two classified satellites for the U.S. Space Force.

The Falcon Heavy Rocket is made up of SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket as the core stage. Together with that, it has two additional Falcon 9 boosters attached to each side of the core. At the time of liftoff, the rocket’s 27 Merlin engines combine in order to create more than 5 million pounds of thrust, which SpaceX says is equal to around 18 Boeing 747 aircraft. Boooooooooom!!

The rocket took its first flight in 2018, deploying an unusual test payload, a Tesla Roadster owned by SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk. Unfortunately, the side boosters stuck the landing. However, they could be used again, but the core booster crashed when it reached the ground. Now, come to the second flight. The second Falcon Rocket mission took place in April 2019 and deployed a rather more sensible payload that was the Arabsat-6A communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin. The most notable moment of that mission was the successful landing of all three boosters, marking the first-ever successful triple landing for SpaceX. Then comes the third one. The most recent Falcon Heavy mission took place in June 2019. It was SpaceX’s first mission for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It carried with it a wide-ranging payload for the DoD and other customers. Like the first flight, the two side boosters landed safely but the core booster crash-landed.

In the upcoming week’s mission, the two side boosters will touch down at Landing Zone 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. However, they will make no attempt to land the core booster, which will instead come down into the ocean. The launch is expected to be an exciting spectacle for those making the trip to the Space Coast or watching online.

Also Read: Microsoft Unifies OneNote & OneNote for Windows 10 Apps Into Single App (phoneworld.com.pk)