{"id":18659,"date":"2018-01-27T17:52:13","date_gmt":"2018-01-27T09:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/its-a-date-spacexs-elon-musk-sets-falcon-heavy-rockets-huge-first-launch-for-feb-6\/"},"modified":"2018-01-27T17:52:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T09:52:13","slug":"its-a-date-spacexs-elon-musk-sets-falcon-heavy-rockets-huge-first-launch-for-feb-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/its-a-date-spacexs-elon-musk-sets-falcon-heavy-rockets-huge-first-launch-for-feb-6\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a date! SpaceX\u2019s Elon Musk sets Falcon Heavy rocket\u2019s huge first launch for Feb. 6"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_393241\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-393241\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-393241\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180127-falconheavy-630x420.jpg\" alt=\"Falcon Heavy\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180127-falconheavy-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180127-falconheavy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180127-falconheavy-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/180127-falconheavy.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-393241\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy stands tall at Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during ground testing. (SpaceX Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The world\u2019s most powerful rocket finally has a date for its debut: Feb. 6.<\/p>\n<p>In a tweet, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the target date for the first test launch of his company\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket, which is due to send Musk\u2019s red Tesla Roadster sports car on a flight of fancy ranging out as far as the orbit of Mars.<\/p>\n<p>He touted \u201ceasy viewing\u201d of the scheduled liftoff from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which previously served as the site of liftoffs for moon rockets and space shuttles.<\/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=957361443023695872&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fdate-spacexs-elon-musk-sets-massive-falcon-heavy-rockets-first-launch-feb-6%2F&amp;sessionId=69f3cf3d39c8106a3ed5c58c05f0de21b47b68bb&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"957361443023695872\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801581169117287=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on Feb 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9 first-stage rocket cores, bristling with a total of 27 Merlin engines. A single-engine second stage sits atop the center core.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX has been conducting ground tests on the first Falcon Heavy for months, and the rocket has been going through checks and rehearsals for weeks. The first static-fire test of all 27 engines took place successfully on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Packing the potential for 5.1 million pounds of liftoff thrust, the 230-foot-tall Falcon Heavy will rank as America\u2019s most powerful launch vehicle since the space shuttle&nbsp;\u2014 which achieved 7 million pounds of thrust at launch, thanks in large part to its solid-rocket boosters.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of payload delivery to orbit, the Falcon Heavy will have more capacity than any rocket since the Apollo era\u2019s Saturn V: as much as 140,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, or 37,000 pounds to Mars.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon Heavy is tailor-made for launching large satellites to geosynchronous orbits, or for sending payloads to the moon or to Mars. SpaceX points out that it could put a Boeing 737 jetliner in orbit, fully loaded with passengers, luggage and fuel.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Falcon Heavy  | Flight Animation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4Ca6x4QbpoM?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>For this first launch, the outer rocket cores are refurbished Falcon 9 first-stage boosters from previous launches. The center core is brand-new. The rocket is designed so that the outer cores break away during ascent and fly themselves back to SpaceX\u2019s landing zones, while the center core is to be recovered at sea.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX officials have emphasized that the Feb. 6 launch date could be postponed, depending on how the preparations proceed. What\u2019s more, SpaceX has scheduled a Falcon 9 launch for Luxembourg\u2019s SES-16 \/ GovSat-1 telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Jan. 30. The logistics of that launch could conceivably have an effect on the timing for the Falcon Heavy\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n<p>The independent website NASASpaceflight.com, which was among the first to have advance word of the Falcon Heavy launch date, said the launch window on Feb. 6 would run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT), with a backup window during the same hours on Feb. 7.<\/p>\n<p>Despite all of SpaceX\u2019s preparations, Musk has acknowledged that the success of the first launch is not assured. That\u2019s a big reason why he\u2019s putting an expendable sports car on the rocket rather than a commercial payload. (He also admitted to wanting to fly \u201cthe silliest thing we can imagine.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Last July, Musk noted that \u201cthere\u2019s a lot that could go wrong\u201d when 27 orbital-class rocket engines are lit up simultaneously. But he said he could guarantee at least one outcome from the Falcon Heavy\u2019s first launch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cit\u2019s guaranteed to be exciting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy stands tall at Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during ground testing. (SpaceX Photo) The world\u2019s most powerful rocket finally has a date for its debut: Feb. 6. In a tweet, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the target date for the first test launch of his company\u2019s Falcon [&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":[1045,678,316],"class_list":["post-18659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-elon-musk","tag-falcon-heavy","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18659"}],"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=18659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}