Falcon Heavy

Falcon Heavy

Falcon Heavy test flight launch
Function	Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	Reusable: US$97 million (2022)[1] Expendable: US$150 million (2017)[2]
Size
Height	70.0 m (229.6 ft)[3]
Diameter	3.7 m (12 ft) (each booster)
Width	12.2 m (40 ft)
Mass	1,420,000 kg (3,130,000 lb)
Stages	2.5
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Orbital inclination	28.5°
Mass	63,800 kg (140,700 lb) when fully expended[3] 57,000 kg (126,000 lb) with boosters recovered[citation needed] <50,000 kg (110,000 lb) with boosters and core recovered[citation needed]
Payload to GTO
Orbital inclination	27.0°
Mass	26,700 kg (58,900 lb)[3]
Payload to Mars
Mass	16,800 kg (37,000 lb)[3]
Associated rockets
Based on	Falcon 9
Comparable	Delta IV Heavy New Glenn Vulcan Centaur
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Kennedy, LC-39A Vandenberg, SLC-6 (future)
Total launches	11
Success(es)	11
Landings	Cores: 1 / 3 attempts[a] Boosters: 16 / 16 attempts
First flight	February 6, 2018 (test flight)
Last flight	October 14, 2024 (Europa Clipper, most recent)
Carries passengers or cargo	Arabsat-6A Boeing X-37B EchoStar XXIV Europa Clipper GOES-19 Psyche Dragonfly (Titan space probe)
Boosters
No. boosters	2
Powered by	9 × Merlin 1D per booster[3]
Maximum thrust	SL: 7,600 kN (1,700,000 lbf) each vac: 8,200 kN (1,800,000 lbf) each
Total thrust	SL: 15,200 kN (3,400,000 lbf) vac: 16,400 kN (3,700,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	SL: 282 s (2.77 km/s)[4] vac: 311 s (3.05 km/s)[5]
Burn time	154.3 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
First stage
Powered by	9 × Merlin 1D[3]
Maximum thrust	SL: 7,600 kN (1,700,000 lbf) vac: 8,200 kN (1,800,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	SL: 282 s (2.77 km/s) vac: 311 s (3.05 km/s)
Burn time	187 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage
Powered by	1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum[3]
Maximum thrust	934 kN (210,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	348 s (3.41 km/s)
Burn time	397 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
[edit on Wikidata]

Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle^[b] with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.

The rocket consists of a center core on which two Falcon 9 boosters are attached, and a second stage on top of the center core.^[6] Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit, trailing behind the SLS, Energia and the Saturn V.

SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy's maiden launch on February 6, 2018, at 20:45 UTC.^[7] As a dummy payload, the rocket carried a Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with a mannequin dubbed "Starman" in the driver's seat.^[8] The second Falcon Heavy launch occurred on April 11, 2019, and all three booster rockets successfully returned to Earth.^[9] The third Falcon Heavy launch successfully occurred on June 25, 2019. Since then, Falcon Heavy has been certified for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.^[10]

Falcon Heavy was designed to be able to carry humans into space beyond low Earth orbit, although as of February 2018^[update], SpaceX does not intend to transport people on Falcon Heavy, nor pursue the human-rating certification process to transport NASA astronauts.^[11] Both Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 are expected to eventually be superseded by the Starship super-heavy lift launch vehicle, currently being developed.^[12]

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