Author: Kenneth Chang / Source: New York Times
Joe Skipper/Reuters
Fourteen months ago, SpaceX’s giant Falcon Heavy rocket roared majestically off the launchpad for the first time. It became the most powerful rocket in operation on Earth today.
The launch was only a test flight, and the rocket was not carrying anything for a paying customer.
Instead, a spacesuit-wearing mannequin, nicknamed Starman, sat in the driver’s seat of a red Tesla Roadster that belonged to Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX.Video broadcast from orbit turned into the longest car commercial ever.
On Wednesday, the Falcon Heavy is finally set to make its second launch. This time, the payload is mundane and useful: Arabsat-6A, a Saudi Arabian communications satellite which will relay television, internet and mobile phone signals to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
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When is the launch and how can I watch it?
Takeoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, according to
If the rocket does not get off the ground on Wednesday, SpaceX has a backup opportunity on Thursday night.
SpaceX will webcast the launch beginning about 20 minutes before liftoff.
The satellite will separate from the rocket about 34 minutes after launch.
Why is Falcon Heavy different from other SpaceX rockets?
The company’s workhorse is the Falcon 9 rocket, which first launched in 2010. The first stage of the Heavy essentially consists of three Falcon 9 first stages bound together. The second stages of the two rockets are identical.
The additional thrust allows the Heavy to propel 140,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, nearly three times what the Falcon 9 can lift.
How does this Falcon Heavy differ from the first one?
On the test flight, the two side boosters were older versions reused from earlier flights. (SpaceX’s best innovation to date is landing the booster stage of its rockets and launching it again; traditionally, rockets have been one-use throwaways, with the booster stages dropped into the ocean.)
For this one, the side boosters have never before been used. They are the latest version of the rocket, called “Block Five.” (“Block” is what rocket companies call a major upgrade.) That boosts the thrust and how much the Falcon Heavy can carry.
Will SpaceX land the three boosters?
Yes. The two side boosters are to return to landing pads…
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