SpaceX launched its largest rocket in inventory earlier today, the Falcon Heavy rocket successfully lifted off at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ahead of today's launch, the rocket was aborted in its first launch attempt on Friday, with its internal computer canceling the launch less than a minute before liftoff.
The Falcon Heavy rocket launched three satellites today, and its main payload is a ViaSat 3 satellite, the first of three designed to fly in geostationary orbit. The mission marks SpaceX's 227th overall launch and 28th launch this year. It's also another mission the company is aiming for a higher orbit, with the Falcon Heavy destination marking a rare absence of three boosters for SpaceX to land on the rocket.
Today's mission marks a series of firsts for SpaceX. First, this is the first time all three boosters of the Falcon Heavy rocket are consumable, meaning SpaceX is not trying to recover them after liftoff. Previously, the rocket's six launches to date have used expendable boosters — both missions for the Space Force. The decision to fly in a consumable configuration was due to the higher target orbit of the satellites on board, and today's ViaSat 3 satellites are going into geostationary orbit.
In addition to the ViaSat 3, the Falcon Heavy rocket carries two other satellites, one of which is a spacecraft from San Francisco-based startup Astranis. The Falcon Heavy payload, the ViaSat, will allow the Astranis satellite to reach its destination earlier than it did when it was launched on Falcon 9.
The launch also provides spectacular visuals from liftoff to stage separation. The footage shows all 27 engines on the Falcon Heavy's three first-stage boosters operating at full capacity.
As SpaceX has done on previous missions for the Space Force, today's Falcon Heavy Second Stage also features gray ribbon paint to maintain the temperature of its fuel. This is crucial for missions to geostationary orbit, where long distances and cold space temperatures have the potential to freeze the rocket's kerosene fuel, which could disrupt its Merlin vacuum engine.
The second time this fuel will be needed to heat up, the rocket has already flown to a staggering 25,600 kilometers high, one of SpaceX's highest missions to date, such a mission requires its engines to fire multiple times during the trip to maintain the speed and altitude of the target orbit.
The launch also marks the 100th time SpaceX has reused its fairing, and the first time it has recovered the fairing from nearly two thousand kilometers below the launch pad.
The Falcon Heavy is SpaceX's most complex rocket, with its first stage bundled with 27 engines. 2023 has been a very good year for this rocket, with two launches so far and possibly three left. It proved to be a useful alternative to United Launch Alliance's Delta rocket lineup, which does not accept any new orders, and since these rockets cannot be reused, SpaceX still has to build a new rocket for each mission.