SpaceX to Launch Its First Commercial Falcon Heavy Rocket
SpaceX's first commercial launch of the world's biggest rocket since the Saturn V is scheduled for tonight.
The Arabsat-6A mission will see the first commercial launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX will then attempt to land two side-boosters and the rocket's core in a grand show of its reusable rocket system.
"Max thrust of 2,550 tons will be almost 10% higher than Falcon Heavy demo mission last year," tweeted Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, on April 5.
SpaceX is 80% confident of good weather for tonight's Falcon Heavy launch.
The primary launch window opens at 6:35 p.m. EDT and closes at 8:32 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 10. A live launch webcast will commence about 20 minutes before liftoff on the SpaceX website as well as on YouTube.
The launch will take place from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 7 minutes 52 seconds later, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will attempt to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Just less than two minutes later, 9 minutes 48 seconds after the launch, Falcon Heavy’s center core will attempt to land on a droneship called “Of Course I Still Love You" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Falcon Heavy's first commercial launch will carry the 13,000 lbs./6,000kg. Arabsat-6A high-capacity telecommunications satellite, deploying it into a geostationary orbit approximately 34 minutes after liftoff. From there Arabsat-6A will deliver television, radio, Internet, and mobile communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.