There are two more Falcon Heavy bookings that SpaceX could use to launch resupply ships to the Gateway lunar station, perhaps in the late 2020s, although the status of those missions is unclear.
Despite being overtaken by the recent debuts of NASA’s Space Launch System and SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, the Falcon Heavy is still the world’s most powerful operational commercial rocket, capable of hauling nearly 64 metric tons (more than 140,000 pounds) of cargo into low-Earth orbit a couple hundred miles up if SpaceX expended all three of the rocket’s first-stage boosters.
New rockets, like United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, will come closer to Falcon Heavy’s lift capability, but both launchers are unproven.
ULA says it still has a chance to launch the first Vulcan test flight in December, and Blue Origin officials have said the New Glenn could debut next year.
If schedules hold, SpaceX could launch a ninth Falcon Heavy mission at the end of November with a classified payload for the Space Force.
Earlier this year, NASA engineers formally certified the Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the agency’s most expensive robotic missions, according to Dunn.
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There are two more Falcon Heavy bookings that SpaceX could use to launch resupply ships to the Gateway lunar station, perhaps in the late 2020s, although the status of those missions is unclear.
Despite being overtaken by the recent debuts of NASA’s Space Launch System and SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, the Falcon Heavy is still the world’s most powerful operational commercial rocket, capable of hauling nearly 64 metric tons (more than 140,000 pounds) of cargo into low-Earth orbit a couple hundred miles up if SpaceX expended all three of the rocket’s first-stage boosters.
New rockets, like United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, will come closer to Falcon Heavy’s lift capability, but both launchers are unproven.
ULA says it still has a chance to launch the first Vulcan test flight in December, and Blue Origin officials have said the New Glenn could debut next year.
If schedules hold, SpaceX could launch a ninth Falcon Heavy mission at the end of November with a classified payload for the Space Force.
Earlier this year, NASA engineers formally certified the Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the agency’s most expensive robotic missions, according to Dunn.
The original article contains 803 words, the summary contains 192 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!