{"id":18651,"date":"2018-02-06T22:14:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T14:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/time-for-spacexs-falcon-heavy-rocket-to-fly-watch-live-video-of-the-final-countdown\/"},"modified":"2018-02-06T22:14:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T14:14:20","slug":"time-for-spacexs-falcon-heavy-rocket-to-fly-watch-live-video-of-the-final-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/time-for-spacexs-falcon-heavy-rocket-to-fly-watch-live-video-of-the-final-countdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket to fly: Watch live video of the final countdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe title=\"Falcon Heavy Test Flight\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wbSwFU6tY1c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. \u2014 The maiden launch of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket is arguably the biggest thing to hit NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"callout clearfix\">RELATED: SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket for first time, putting a sports car in space<\/h4>\n<p>Liftoff was set for 3:45 p.m. ET (12:45 p.m. PT) today, amid concerns about upper-level winds.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of journalists have signed up to cover the launch from&nbsp;NASA\u2019s historic Launch Complex 39A, where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles have blasted off in the past. (NASA leased the launch pad to SpaceX in 2014.) Thousands of spectators swarmed to&nbsp;viewing areas surrounding the launch site.&nbsp;The backup to get into Kennedy Space Center\u2019s visitor center stretched for more than 5 miles this morning.<\/p>\n<p>More than 2 million viewers are watching the launch webcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d say, tune in. It\u2019s going to be worth your time,\u201d SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a teleconference on the eve of the launch.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=960949244982018049&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fwatch-watch-guide-spacexs-falcon-heavy-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=a0a80ae5763fb44a39b15eb46200d21f35cc75bc&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"960949244982018049\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801545293648627=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Launch auto-sequence initiated (aka the holy mouse-click) for 3:45 liftoff #FalconHeavy<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s going on? We\u2019ve boiled down the basics as answers to nine questions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s a Falcon Heavy?<\/strong> It\u2019s designed to be the most powerful rocket in operation since the Apollo era\u2019s Saturn V rocket, in terms of its capability to loft payloads. The 230-foot-tall rocket combines a modified Falcon 9 rocket core in the center with a recycled Falcon 9 cores to the left and to the right. That means SpaceX aims to have 27 of its Merlin rocket engines firing at once.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the Falcon Heavy can launch 141,000 pounds&nbsp;\u2014 the equivalent of a Boeing 737 jet fully loaded with fuel, passengers and their luggage&nbsp;\u2014 to low Earth orbit. In terms of liftoff thrust, its 5-million-pound punch is the biggest since the shuttle\u2019s 7-million-pound thrust capability.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket maiden launch preview\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eOq6uDAN2Rs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the big deal?<\/strong> If the Falcon Heavy works as advertised, it could provide a low-cost means to send expensive, hefty satellites directly to a particularly desirable altitude known as geostationary orbit, 22,000 miles up, where the satellites can remain permanently stationed over a given spot on Earth. Success would extend SpaceX\u2019s market reach into a new space frontier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the payload?<\/strong> There\u2019s a lot that could go wrong with this first flight, so Musk has arranged to send an expendable (and silly) cargo into deep space. It\u2019s Musk\u2019s pre-owned red Tesla Roadster, complete with a spacesuit-wearing mannequin in the front seat. Musk already has called attention to an \u201cEaster egg\u201d sitting on the dashboard: a tiny toy model of the Roadster, with an even tinier toy astronaut sitting inside. More Easter eggs, perhaps including a micro-sized copy of Isaac Asimov\u2019s Foundation Trilogy, could be revealed during today\u2019s webcast.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_395224\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-395224\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-395224\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_72-630x945.jpg\" alt=\"SpaceX Falcon Heavy on pad\" width=\"630\" height=\"945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_72-630x945.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_72-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_72-840x1260.jpg 840w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_72.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-395224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy stands 230 feet tall. (GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Where\u2019s it going?<\/strong> As far out as the orbit of Mars, roughly 250 million miles (400 million kilometers) from Earth at the farthest, and traveling at a relative speed of nearly 25,000 mph (11 km\/sec), according to Musk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be in a precessing elliptical orbit, with one point of the ellipse being at Earth orbit, the other point being at Mars orbit,\u201d he told GeekWire. \u201cSo essentially it\u2019ll be an Earth-Mars cycler, and we estimage it\u2019ll be in that orbit for several hundred million years, maybe in excess of a billion years. At times, it will come extremely close to Mars, and there\u2019s a tiny, tiny chance that it will hit Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked Musk if he could quantify that chance more precisely. \u201cExtremely tiny,\u201d he replied. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t hold your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_395355\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-395355\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-395355\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_90-630x420.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_90-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_90-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_90-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/20180205_SpaceX_Falcon_Heavy_90.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-395355\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The enormous size of the Falcon Heavy is clear when compared to the cars parked below it. (GeekWire Photo\/Kevin Lisota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>What happens to the rockets?<\/strong> After the upper stage separates and heads further out into space, the three first-stage cores are programmed to execute an autonomously controlled pirouette to return to Earth. The two side cores should come down with a one-two punch of sonic booms at SpaceX\u2019s twin landing pads on the Florida coast. The central core should touch down on \u201cOf Course I Still Love You,\u201d a fancifully named drone ship stationed hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. It should be an impressive sight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When can we tune in?<\/strong> Because this is strictly a demonstration mission for SpaceX, don\u2019t expect NASA TV to carry the webcast. Instead, go to SpaceX.com\/webcast. Right now, liftoff is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET (12:45 p.m. PT), later than originally planned, to give upper-level winds time to diminish to acceptable levels. If the launch has to be delayed, there\u2019s a backup window from 1:30 to 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. For more background, check out SpaceX\u2019s press kit for the launch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019ll we see?<\/strong> In addition to the countdown and liftoff, SpaceX traditionally wires its first-stage booster up with a rocket-cam to provide an in-flight view of the ascent. This time around, there could be as many as four separate rocket-cam views on the screen, from the three first-stage boosters as well as the upper stage. There could be an extra video treat: Three cameras have been mounted on the Roadster, with the intent of beaming back deep-space views of the mannequin sitting in the car. \u201cThey should really provide some epic views if they work and everything goes well,\u201d Musk said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the soundtrack?<\/strong> Musk said he wants to have David Bowie\u2019s \u201cSpace Oddity\u201d playing for liftoff, and that\u2019s not the only Falcon Heavy tribute to the late rocker. The Roadster\u2019s dummy driver has been nicknamed \u201cStarman,\u201d evoking another Bowie song. And Bowie\u2019s \u201cLife on Mars\u201d provides the soundtrack for an animation highlighting the Falcon Heavy\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Falcon Heavy Animation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Tk338VXcb24?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong> SpaceX\u2019s launch manifest lists four more missions for the Falcon Heavy, including the U.S. Air Force\u2019s STP-2 test program as well as satellites for Arabsat, ViaSat and Inmarsat. The STP-2 mission is of particular interest because one of its planned payloads is the Planetary Society\u2019s LightSail 2 spacecraft, which is designed to test solar-sailing technology.<\/p>\n<p>In the long run, the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy may be surpassed by the BFR, the \u201cBig Falcon Rocket\u201d that SpaceX is developing for passenger flights to Mars. But that, as they say, is another story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. \u2014 The maiden launch of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket is arguably the biggest thing to hit NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011. RELATED: SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket for first time, putting a sports car in space Liftoff was set for 3:45 p.m. ET [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[678,316],"class_list":["post-18651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-falcon-heavy","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18651"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}