SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launches NOAA weather satellite
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket today successfully launched a NOAA weather satellite, completing its first flight in 2024 and its tenth flight overall.
The two side boosters completed their first flight, with both landing back at Cape Canaveral. The core stage was allowed to fall into the ocean.
The leaders in the 2024 launch race:
67 SpaceX
28 China
8 Russia
8 Rocket Lab
American private enterprise now leads the world combined in successful launches, 78 to 42, while SpaceX by itself still leads the entire world, including other American companies, 67 to 53.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket today successfully launched a NOAA weather satellite, completing its first flight in 2024 and its tenth flight overall.
The two side boosters completed their first flight, with both landing back at Cape Canaveral. The core stage was allowed to fall into the ocean.
The leaders in the 2024 launch race:
67 SpaceX
28 China
8 Russia
8 Rocket Lab
American private enterprise now leads the world combined in successful launches, 78 to 42, while SpaceX by itself still leads the entire world, including other American companies, 67 to 53.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
It’s amazing that a Falcon Heavy launch wasn’t even on my radar as something I should watch. Although I really do want to get to Florida to see one live.
Tim Dodd (The Everyday Astronaut) has posted his two part interview/tour of Star Factory and the Superheavy launch site taken the day before IFT-4. Part one (star factory): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFqjoCbZ4ik, part two (launch pad tour, and post-launch interview with Elon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InJOlT6WdHc
The view from the pad looking up at the full stack is just amazing, the photos I’ve seen from remote sites just doesn’t capture the scale, not even close.
Cool video of GOES getting deployed. The background looks familiar.
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1805782454495855078
@David The view of the launch vehicle from up close is even more surreal when as Tim pointed out, there is nothing to compare against for scale.
And the 3 boosters in the Mega Bay? More lift capacity there than probably half of all the Apollo launches.
Then the Raptor room with rows and rows of Raptors waiting to be mounted. SN’s in the 380’s…
I assume the upper stage will also have to remain in geo’ or can it deorbit?
NASA coverage of this launch, leaves something to be desired.
Jeff Wright asked: “I assume the upper stage will also have to remain in geo’ or can it deorbit?”
Upper stages do not circularize to GEO but remain in their Hohmann transfer orbits, and with very little effort they can be de-orbited. SpaceX has been de-orbiting their upper stages for many years.
”Upper stages do not circularize to GEO but remain in their Hohmann transfer orbits, and with very little effort they can be de-orbited. SpaceX has been de-orbiting their upper stages for many years.”
That is true for launches to LEO such as Starlink launches but not for launches like this. This launch left the upper stage in a 16,000 x 35,000 km orbit. It will be up there for thousands of years.