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It was 2019 when the last mission that used a Falcon Heavy space rocket from SpaceX. That time it was a telecommunications satellite (Arabsat-6A in April 2019) while iconic was the first launch of this vector that brought the Tesla Roadster owned by Elon Musk into orbit along with the Starman dummy still wandering in Space ( it was the vector validation test and therefore the payload might not be a satellite). With this mission, USSF-44there are four missions that have used this space rocketbut there will be more in the future.
Due to the military nature of the mission (commissioned by the US Space Force) some phases of the launch were not disclosed as well as not known all the contents of the payload and there are no public photos of the latter. Considering the use of a heavy vector and geostationary orbit transfer (GEO) it is a large mass payload that also has a secondary payload.
The video of the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy
The launch of the USSF-44 mission it was scheduled for October 31st but a delay in the last few days made the departure postpone until today November 1st. The launch occurred from the spaceport of Kennedy Space Center in Florida and more precisely from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). This same launch zone is also the one used for other SpaceX missions, including the departures of crews to the ISS.
As expected, the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket which took place at 14:41 (Italian time). Before departure it was possible to notice the differences compared to other versions previously used such as the fact that the first central stage, coded as B1066, did not have the upper fins (grinfin) as well as the lower landing supports. The reason that, unlike the two side boosters (which landed in Landing Zones 1 and Landing Zones 2), the latter was not recovered. Having no longer need to land those components have been removed so as not to “waste them” and reduce the mass of the vector.
This was the first mission this year to be directed to GEO orbit for SpaceX. This provided for a change in the upper stage which, while still having a single Merlin engine (Merlin Vacuum or MVac) sees a propellant tank (RP-1, kerosene) colored to allow it to withstand the temperatures of Space. In fact, it will take several ignitions and a relatively long time to reach the chosen orbit. As written, the side boosters B1064 and B1065 landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station just under 9 minutes after launch (at 2:50 pm) after separating at 2:44 pm.
One of the payloads a satellite known as TETRA-1. It is a small prototype made by Boeing. The other payload is a satellite or more satellites whose specifications or purpose are unknown (but are nonetheless military payloads). At the time of the launch there was some fog that partially obscured the launch of Falcon Heavy while not jeopardizing the departure. The next missions will be USSF-52 (another mission with military purposes) and NASA Psyche which will try to reach a metallic asteroid.
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