SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket standing vertical for GOES-U mission

SpaceX has rolled out the Falcon Heavy rocket for NASA’s GOES-U mission and the vehicle is now standing vertical on the launch pad in Florida.

This mission will be conducted from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The liftoff window is two hours long, opening at 5:16 p.m. ET. A backup launch opportunity is available on the next day at the same time.

Falcon Heavy is a three-stage rocket with nine engine cores including 27 Merlin engines. The rocket generates a combined 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff with the capability to push 64 metric tons of mass to orbit. The space vehicle is 70 meters tall and 12.2 meters wide.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Standing Vertical On Launch Pad with NASA’s GOES-U Satellite Payload (Image Source – SpaceX)

The Merlin engine uses RP-1 and liquid oxygen in a gas-generator power cycle. The vehicle also has a Merlin vacuum with a large exhaust section and larger expansion nozzle for maximized efficiency in the vacuum of space.

Each of these stages carries 4 landing legs made with carbon fiber and an aluminum honeycomb. Furthermore, the interstage connects the center core on the first and second stages and holds the release and separation system.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Transporting to the Launch Pad (Source – SpaceX)

All three boosters carry four hypersonic grid fins to position the boosters at the base of the interstage or nosecone which directs by moving the center of pressure during reentry. After stage separation, the two boosters will land on SpaceX’s landing zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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