{"id":11204,"date":"2022-11-01T23:14:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/falcon-heavy-simply-outstanding-on-spacexs-first-launch-to-geosynch-orbit\/"},"modified":"2022-11-01T23:14:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:14:59","slug":"falcon-heavy-simply-outstanding-on-spacexs-first-launch-to-geosynch-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/falcon-heavy-simply-outstanding-on-spacexs-first-launch-to-geosynch-orbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcon Heavy \u2018simply outstanding\u2019 on SpaceX\u2019s first launch to geosynch orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy climbs into space from Kennedy Space Center on the U.S. Space Force\u2019s USSF-44 mission. Credit: Michael Cain \/ Spaceflight Now \/ Coldlife Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The U.S. Space Force confirmed Tuesday that a Falcon Heavy launcher placed two main payloads and at least three smaller rideshare satellites directly into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit after liftoff from Florida, an achievement that checks off one of the final unproven capabilities for SpaceX\u2019s rocket family.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful operational rocket in the world, blasted off for the first time in more than three years from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the fourth Falcon Heavy flight overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was our first National Security Space Launch on a Falcon Heavy, and it was simply outstanding,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the Space Force\u2019s program executive officer for assured access to space.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding to the nation\u2019s on-orbit capability is absolutely critical in staying ahead of the threats posed by our very active foreign adversaries,\u201d Purdy said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The liquid-fueled launcher, measuring 229 feet (70 meters) tall and 40 feet (13 meters) wide, fired its 27 Merlin engines at climbed away from pad 39A at Kennedy at 9:41 a.m. EDT (1341 GMT) Tuesday to begin the USSF-44 mission for the Space Force.<\/p>\n

One of the two main payloads on the USSF-44 mission, a technology demonstration satellite called Shepherd Demonstration, is clouded in secrecy. But the Space Force disclosed in a statement after Tuesday\u2019s launch that it will \u201ctest new technologies to enhance safe and responsible rendezvous and proximity operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technologies for rendezvous and proximity operations in geosynchronous orbit could enable new inspection, surveillance, or servicing capabilities for the Space Force. In a post-launch statement Tuesday, the Space Force said the Shepherd Demonstration mission will \u201caccelerate risk reduction efforts\u201d for future military space programs.<\/p>\n

The Space Force has launched six \u201cneighborhood watch\u201d surveillance satellites for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program. The GSSAP satellites are designed to maneuver to different positions in space, allowing them to track and observe other satellites. Russia and China have also launched military satellites that could be testing new anti-satellite or inspection capabilities.<\/p>\n

The other main satellite on the Falcon Heavy rocket was the Space Force\u2019s second Long Duration Propulsive ESPA, or LDPE 2, spacecraft, itself hosting six payloads \u2014 three that will remain attached to the spacecraft and three that will deploy from LPDE 2 to perform their own missions.<\/p>\n

The Falcon Heavy, created by combining three SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket boosters into a single vehicle, took aim on a circular orbit some 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator. The high-altitude orbital destination that required more than six hours of flight from the launch pad on Florida\u2019s Space Coast, making Tuesday\u2019s launch the longest duration flight by a SpaceX rocket from liftoff until payload deployment.<\/p>\n

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Three Falcon booster cores power the Falcon Heavy rocket off pad 39A to begin the USSF-44 mission. Credit: Michael Cain \/ Spaceflight Now \/ Coldlife Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rocket turned east from Kennedy Space Center as it climbed above a veil of ground fog. The Merlin engines on the Falcon Heavy produced 5.1 million pounds of thrust at full throttle, around twice the power of any other operational rocket in the world. The rocket arced over the Atlantic Ocean before shedding its two side-mounted boosters two-and-a-half minutes into the flight.<\/p>\n

The side boosters pulsed their cold gas thrusters and reignited three engines each to reverse course and begin returning to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for landing at SpaceX\u2019s two recovery zones about 9 miles (15 kilometers) south of pad 39A. The boosters descended to near-simultaneous vertical landings about eight minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n

The core stage, which throttled back its engines for the first phase of the flight, fired almost four minutes before jettisoning to fall into the Atlantic. SpaceX did not attempt to recover the center core because it devoted all of its propellant to accelerating the USSF-44 payloads into space.<\/p>\n

An upper stage engine finished the task of maneuvering into an equator-hugging geosynchronous orbit, following a coast of some six hours through the Van Allen radiation belts before reigniting its engine and deploying the Space Force\u2019s Shepherd Demonstration and LDPE 2 satellites.<\/p>\n

The long-duration mission Tuesday required SpaceX to make some changes to the Falcon Heavy rocket. The most visible modification was the addition of gray paint on the outside of the upper stage\u2019s kerosene fuel tank, which helped ensure the fuel did not freeze as the rocket spends hours in the cold environment of space.<\/p>\n