SpaceX launches triple-core Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX launches triple-core Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Emre Kelly,   Sun, April 30, 2023 at 9:23 PM EDT
Florida Today





Space is important to us and that’s why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

---

SpaceX's triple-core Falcon Heavy rocket soared from Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, kicking off a complicated mission that boosted a powerful commercial communications satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

After an 8:26 p.m. EDT liftoff from pad 39A and eastward flight, Falcon Heavy – essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together – burned across the Atlantic Ocean with the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite and two payloads for Astranis and Gravity Space. All three were scheduled to begin separating from the upper stage four-and-a-half hours after liftoff.

Falcon Heavy's three boosters were expended, or ditched into the ocean, due to performance needs. There wasn't enough fuel left over for the previously flown boosters to separate, fire back toward Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and touch down at Landing Zones 1 and 2. The center booster was also expended, so no drone ship was necessary for this flight.

Sunday's primary payload was ViaSat-3 Americas, a commercial communications satellite built by Boeing and owned by California-based ViaSat. The highest-capacity satellite ever launched, ViaSat-3 Americas will provide coverage primarily to North and South America. Future versions will also target Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

ViaSat-3 Americas is now the highest-capacity satellite in the world. It's also the largest all-electric satellite ever launched, meaning its orbit-adjusting engines use electricity rather than chemical-based propulsion. This flight marked the Space Coast's 21st of the year.

SpaceX had been hoping to launch Falcon Heavy on Friday just after another Falcon 9 mission. Had poor weather and technical issues not gotten in the way, it would have marked the fastest turnaround between launches since the 1960s.

At Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SpaceX is gearing up for another launch as soon as the middle of this week. A Falcon 9 rocket is slated to fly from Launch Complex 40 with the next batch of Starlink internet satellites during a window that opens sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. EDT Thursday, May 4. SpaceX has not yet confirmed the existence of this mission.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/spacex-launches-triple-core-falcon-012335865.html