SpaceX is preparing for the launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket next year. An Air Force satellite launch is scheduled a few months after the demo.
"It's going to be a great day when we launch that, some time in the late April-early May timeframe," SpaceX VP of mission and launch operations Lee Rosen said at the American Institute of Astronautics' Space 2015 conference in Pasadena, Calif. as reported by SpaceNews.
Next year's Falcon Heavy launch is "a demonstration mission without a paying customer," the website said. In September, the rocket lifts off once again for the Air Force to launch 37 satellites as part of Space Test Program 2. Also in the pipeline are ViaSat and Inmarsat satellite launches, according to Rosen.
The announcement follows a series of delays that slowly pushed back the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch. The spacefaring company set a launch date in 2013 but was delayed to this year. But the Falcon 9 failure on June 28 forced another delay to next year.
When it goes online, the Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful launch vehicle in the US. It is eclipsed only by the Saturn V that brought man to the moon via the Apollo missions.
"With the ability to lift into orbit over 53 metric tons (117,000 pounds) - a mass equivalent to a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel - Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost," SpaceX said.
Its first stage is basically three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, including 27 Merlin engines producing 20,418 kN (4,590,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level.
"SpaceX plans to recover the stage one rocket boosters by landing them back to Earth after launch," The Verge said.
Watch the whole process in the video below:
Next year's Falcon Heavy launch will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A which SpaceX has been renovating to accommodate the vehicle, as well as Falcon 9 Dragon Crew spacecraft flights.
