SpaceX has finally achieved a milestone as it plans to launch the “Falcon Heavy,” which is regarded as the most powerful rocket in the world. This is considered the most critical and ambitious project for SpaceX because it will be the “first launch in over three years,” as per the company. This gigantic rocket is equipped with three “modified” Falcon 9 stage boosters and will take off from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. In view of the upcoming launch, SpaceX has released incredible images of the massive 27 Merlin engines in a Twitter post embedded below. However, the company has not yet announced the exact date of the launch of the rocket, but it will probably fall at the end of October or at the start of November.
SpaceX wrote the caption with the photo saying, “Falcon Heavy in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A.” It should be noted that the three modified Falcon 9 stage boosters integrated with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket consist of two stages. The first stage comprises three classes which are divided into transferring the Starlink satellites into orbit, humans, to the International Space Station; and it also consists of the inclusion of communication facilities on board as well. Not to mention, the central booster that has been integrated with the second stage is used to carry out the mission’s payload into orbit.
It is important to note that this central booster will be detached from the rocket after the deployment of the second stage into orbit and will eventually make its way into the sea. As can be seen in the picture above, the massive 27 Merlin engines of the Falcon 9 have a huge capacity to produce a thrust of 5 million pounds during takeoff and this is one of the main reasons that it stands out from the rest. Considering the achievement, SpaceX wrote on its website, “Falcon Heavy is the world’s most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two.”
One of the most intriguing things to note is that the rocket can easily lift a huge payload of about 64 metric tonnes (141,000 Ib) into orbit. The team sought to address an important point that the Falcon Heavy project will be conducted to carry out the USSF-44 mission, whose aim is to “launch two satellites into the geostationary orbit for the U.S Space Force.”