{"id":11094,"date":"2023-01-16T22:34:37","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/falcon-heavy-hauls-military-satellites-to-high-orbit-after-spectacular-sunset-launch\/"},"modified":"2023-01-16T22:34:37","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:34:37","slug":"falcon-heavy-hauls-military-satellites-to-high-orbit-after-spectacular-sunset-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/falcon-heavy-hauls-military-satellites-to-high-orbit-after-spectacular-sunset-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcon Heavy hauls military satellites to high orbit after spectacular sunset launch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket fires away from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two U.S. Space Force satellites. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A U.S. military data relay satellite and a rideshare platform with its own suite of payloads rocketed into a sunset sky over Florida\u2019s Space Coast Sunday on a Falcon Heavy launcher, putting on a dazzling show for local residents and visitors as the rocket\u2019s two side boosters returned to Cape Canaveral for landing.<\/p>\n

The Falcon Heavy lifted off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 5:56 p.m. EST (2256 GMT) Sunday. The mission is the first of five Falcon Heavy rockets SpaceX plans to launch this year for the Space Force, NASA, and commercial customers.<\/p>\n

Following a smooth countdown, the Falcon Heavy lit its 27 Merlin main engines and throttled up to full power, producing 5.1 million pounds of ground-shaking thrust as the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket climbed away from the historic launch complex. The Falcon Heavy rolled onto a course due east from Kennedy Space Center, targeting an equator-hugging geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s two side boosters, each with nine engines, shut down about two-and-a-half minutes into the flight and dropped away from the core stage of the Falcon Heavy. The side boosters fired thrusters to flip around into a tail first orientation, then they each ignited three of their engines to thrust back toward Cape Canaveral for landing.<\/p>\n

The core stage, which flew at partial thrust for the first few minutes of the flight, throttled up its nine engines to full power for another 90 seconds before jettisoning to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. Then the upper stage of the Falcon Heavy ignited for the first of three burns to first place the mission\u2019s two Space Force satellites into a preliminary parking orbit, then raise the altitude and reduce the inclination to reach a circular geosynchronous orbit.<\/p>\n

The Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters, meanwhile, returned to Cape Canaveral for near-simultaneous landings. The boosters ignited their engines in a final braking maneuver before settling on Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.<\/p>\n

The timing of the launch and landings, just minutes after sunset in Central Florida, created conditions for a dazzling display as the Falcon Heavy soared into space. The day\u2019s last rays of sunlight illuminated the rocket\u2019s exhaust plume as the engines powered the launcher into the sky, including the colorful interaction between the plumes from the core stage and the two side boosters firing at the edge of space.<\/p>\n