27.06.2019

The world’s most powerful in-service launch vehicle roared aloft for its third mission overnight, delivering no fewer than 24 payloads for U.S. government, military and civilian customers into several different orbital locations. SpaceX’s triple-cored Falcon Heavy—whose 27 Merlin 1D+ first-stage engines generate some 5.1 million pounds (2.3 million kg) of propulsive yield at liftoff, took flight from historic Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 2:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, about three hours into a four-hour “window”, after delaying from 11:30pm to complete additional ground system checkouts.

Riding the coattails of the Heavy’s triumphant maiden test flight in February 2018 and its first commercial outing last April, last night’s mission achieved its own raft of “personal bests” for SpaceX, launching for the first time in the hours of darkness and reusing the same set of side-mounted boosters from its most recent flight.

Quelle: AmericaSpace