SpaceX has been prepping and planning the launch of their biggest rocket yet, the Falcon Heavy. Not only does the rocket aim to carry more payload (twice as much) than any other rocket in the world, but it hopes to usher in a new era of reusability, bringing the cost of space travel down dramatically. Able to bring more than 140,000 pounds of payload into orbit, the Falcon Heavy’s significance can’t be overstated, as it is set up on the exact pad that the Saturn 5 rocket launched from back in the 1960’s. That rocket brought men into space during NASA’s most exciting Apollo years. Now a new era of massive rockets sits ready to make history again. If the rocket survives the tumultuous launch phase, the payload will travel all the way to Mars orbit. The New York Times has a great article about the excitement of this rocket launch.
The Falcon Heavy rocket is set up on the exact rocket pad that the Saturn 5 Rocket launched from. Standing 230 feet tall and weighing more than 3 million pounds, it’s the biggest rocket in the world.
With 27 engines delivering 5 million pounds of thrust, the Falcon Heavy truly is massive.
SpaceX, run by Elon Musk, is placing his personal cherry red Tesla Roadster as the payload of the rocket. It will be playing David Bowie’s Space Oddity during launch. If the rocket survives the launch, the Roadster will travel all the way to Mars’ orbit.
A diagram showing the size of the Falcon Heavy, which is smaller than the Saturn 5 of the Apollo era, but just as powerful. The final, enormous rocket is the SpaceX Mars Vehicle, yet to be built.
