SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Now On Launchpad
SpaceX has positioned its first Falcon Heavy rocket on the launch pad prior to the New Year, ready for its maiden flight this January. NASA confirmed that the rocket has been moved to Launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same platform from where the Apollo program made history all those decades ago.
Spectators near the historic launchpad spotted the vertical raising of the 70-meter tall rocket. Composed of two refurbished Falcon 9 boosters and a newly designed central core stage, the rocket is capable of launching up to 140,600 lbs (63,800 kg) of cargo into low earth orbit.
The Falcon Heavy rocket, together with its 27 engines, is the most powerful rocket ever built producing the most thrust of any launch vehicle since the space shuttle. For the test launch, the rocket will be carrying a dummy payload. However, unlike previous tests, this one requires a very special cargo: Elon Musk's own "midnight cherry" Tesla Roadster.
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Musk has already posted a number of photos showing the car suspended and secured by fairings inside the spacecraft. A few tourists also caught a glimpse of the payload being transported out of its hangar inevitably to be secured at the top of the Tesla's biggest rocket to date.
The Falcon Heavy rocket was originally slated for launch since the summer of 2017 but was delayed multiple times. To see the rocket finally take its place on the launchpad is definitely encouraging not just for SpaceX but everyone who is excited about space travel.
The rocket is expected to supplant NASA's Space Shuttle fleet as a cost-effective way of sending astronauts and payloads into space. Since the decommissioning of the last Shuttle, the American space agency has been relying on Russia-made Soyuz spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station.
Aside from supplies, the Falcon Heavy rocket is also expected to carry the Dragon spacecraft designed to carry a new batch of astronauts to the Moon. Due to this fact, it seems fitting that the rocket's maiden flight begin at the same complex that housed the Apollo program.
