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SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket

February 6, 2018

The pioneering rocket firm just pulled off the unexpected, and carried out what appears to be a seamless first-ever launch of its massive new rocket, called Falcon Heavy. That makes SpaceX, the game-changing company helmed by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the owner of the world’s most powerful operational rocket. Falcon Heavy took flight Tuesday around 3:45 pm ET from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About two and a half minutes after launch, the two side boosters on the rocket detached and headed back to Earth.

The pioneering rocket firm just pulled off the unexpected, and carried out what appears to be a seamless first-ever launch of its massive new rocket, called Falcon Heavy. That makes SpaceX, the game-changing company helmed by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the owner of the world’s most powerful operational rocket. Falcon Heavy took flight Tuesday around 3:45 pm ET from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About two and a half minutes after launch, the two side boosters on the rocket detached and headed back to Earth.

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SOURCE = CNN

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SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch live coverage: Countdown resumes after delays

February 6, 2018

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch has resumed countdown after being placed in a hold amid several delays — and an ever-narrowing launch window that ends at 4 p.m. “Continue to monitor the upper level wind shear. New T-0 is 3:45 p.m. EST, 20:45 UTC.,” read a post from the SpaceX account on Twitter, where the company makes many of its official announcements. A conference call to discuss updates was taking place but silent; an official attributed the clock’s movement to a quick runoff before evaluating options for the mission. “Launch auto-sequence initiated (aka the holy mouse-click) for 3:45 liftoff #FalconHeavy,” read a tweet from the account of SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

As minutes ticked away during the hold and the prospect of the launch began running into the end of the launch window, reporters and bloggers at Kennedy Space Center’s media site worked on their stories. But some on site wondered aloud if the Falcon Heavy’s launch would slip into Wednesday. However, at about 1:55 p.m., the countdown clock started back up with the new 3:45 p.m. target. Because the rocket’s path was blocked by high-level wind shear, multiple delays between noon and 1:20 p.m. winnowed the launch window to less than 45 minutes before clocks controlled by the U.S. Air Force stopped counting down.

Officials at midday saw great weather conditions for liftoff — with another SpaceX tweet calling them 90 percent favorable, at that. But SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted about the winds on his Twitter account shortly after noon: “Upper atmosphere winds currently 20% above max allowable load. Holding for an hour to allow winds to diminish. #FalconHeavy” That was before changes were seen in countdown clocks run by USAF Eastern Range operations — three delays pushed the launch from its original time of 1:30 p.m. to as late as 3:19 p.m. — but then the counting went into a hold, stopping altogether for a while. If a scrub is required for any reason, SpaceX would try again Wednesday.

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SOURCE = Orlando Sentinel

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MY GOD, IT’S FULL OF CARS: SpaceX thrusts Tesla into orbit (just don’t mention the barge)

February 6, 2018

After years of setbacks, SpaceX today successfully launched its Falcon Heavy three-in-one rocket and delivered its cherry-red payload into orbit – Elon Musk’s very own Tesla Roadster. After a morning of delays due to high winds, the mighty rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, in Florida, USA, at 1245pm PT (2045 UTC) with no problems. Its 27 engines, bunched into three rockets, throttled up, and lifted its experimental payload to the heavens.

Two minutes and thirty seconds into the flight, two of these booster rockets peeled off, leaving just a central stage hurtling into the obsidian void with a Tesla strapped to it. The pair of side rockets landed vertically in tandem at the space center on Earth eight minutes after launch. Shortly afterwards, the remaining central stage separated from its payload and began the long trip back to Earth. It was due to land on the autonomous barge, Of Course I Still Love You, floating in the Atlantic ocean, but so far SpaceX hasn’t confirmed if it landed in one piece. There are rumors the rocket, and the barge it was supposed to land on, were destroyed after the rocket motors failed. SpaceX staff spoke of losing “the central core.”

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SOURCE = The Register

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Elon Musk sends Tesla car to Mars on SpaceX rocket

February 6, 2018

A cherry red Tesla car was launched into space on Tuesday by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, with David Bowie’s song Life on Mars playing on repeat. Thousands of people gathered in Florida to watch the launch – the culmination of a plan five years in the making. Mr Musk used a super rocket – the Falcon Heavy vehicle – to send the car into orbit around Mars, deploying technology with twice the launching power of any existing rocket, and double that of the Saturn V, which launched the Apollo lunar missions.