6, 2018, shot a red Tesla roadster owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk into orbit, a mannequin named Starman in its driver's seat. Larger than the workhorse Falcon 9, it's the precursor to the Super Heavy, which powered SpaceX's first Starship test flight last week that ended in fiery explosion.įalcon Heavy's first launch on Feb. The rocket will carry a payload that includes a broadband communications satellite.įalcon Heavy is SpaceX's most powerful operational rocket, with a thrust at liftoff equal to eighteen Boeing 747 airplanes. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) The current record of 90 minutes was set during the Gemini program in 1966, the newspaper reported.Ī SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket heads for orbit after launching from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center as seen from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Jan. The schedule at one point had the potential to set a record for the shortest amount of time between launches, according to Florida Today. SpaceX said conditions had later become more favorable during the Heavy launch window. Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, which issues official launch-day forecasts. Weather was originally 30% go for the Falcon Heavy on Friday, according to the U.S. SpaceX tweeted that the 'vehicle and payload remain healthy.' Engineers had cleared the rocket to fly after the launch pad was hit by lightning Thursday night. The reason for Friday's scrub wasn't immediately announced. The second a Falcon Heavy set to launch from the adjacent Kennedy Space Center, was called off with 59 seconds on the countdown clock. The first, a Falcon 9, lifted off as planned around 6:12 p.m. Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first, a Falcon 9, lifted off as planned around 6:12 p.m. Thursday's scrub had set the stage for back-to-back SpaceX launches from Florida on Friday, but it was not to be. There was a potential launch opportunity Saturday, but SpaceX opted to skip it due to additional weather concerns. At least one of those, on Thursday, was blamed specifically on the weather but storms were a concern all three days. Heading into the weekend, the Falcon Heavy launch was scrubbed three days in a row. eastern time when high winds calmed around the launch pad. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launched from Florida Sunday evening after several weather-related delays.

Spacex falcon 9 launch today