The world’s most powerful rocket – the Falcon Heavy – has been successfully launched by SpaceX.
With lift-off, the Falcon Heavy became the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. With the ability to lift into orbit nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lb)—a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel.
(launch is at 38 minutes)
The payload was a red Tesla Roadster (playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”)
Standing 229.6 ft (70 m) tall and 39.9 ft (12.2 m) wide and producing 5,548,500 pounds of thrust, max, in vacuum, the Falcon Heavy is capable of placing:
- 140,660 lbs (63,800 kg) into Low Earth Orbit,
- 58,860 lbs (26,700 kg) into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), and sending
- 37,040 lbs (16,800 kg) to Mars.
A single Falcon Heavy launch is expected to cost $90 million, which is about one-third the cost of other providers.
Synchronized landings!
Here’s the coolest man on planet Earth!
