The most powerful rocket has an appearance again tomorrow
The weather forecast is correct, the technical requirements are met. If everything goes according to plan, the SpaceX mission USSF-67 can take off tomorrow, Saturday, January 14th. Currently, spaceflight status pages like Nextspaceflight assumes that the Falcon Heavy rocket, which is around 70 meters high, will set off on its journey into space at 5:51 a.m. local time, i.e. 11:51 p.m. German time.
For SpaceX, the launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida marks the fourth launch this year. While the Falcon 9 has become the workhorse for the company – the rocket has completed well over 100 flights – the Falcon Heavy extension has only been allowed to go to the launch pad for the fifth time since its first launch in 2018. However, the frequency is expected to increase significantly in 2023, with four further deployments planned for this year alone.
The Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9, in the current case the two external boosters B1064 and B1065 have already made two successful flights into space. In the case of the USSF-67 mission, the two boosters should also return to earth and, in this case, land directly in the Kennedy Space Center. There is no chance for the Intermediate to return, since once the payload has been delivered, it will no longer have the necessary fuel.
What’s on board: Top secret
One of SpaceX’s clients is the US Space Force, which is why many parts of the payload are “top secret”. how everyday astronaut reports, the main payload is a military communications satellite designated “CBAS 2”. In addition, other CubeSats and small satellites travel piggyback into orbit, so to speak.
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