After several setbacks caused by the weather, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket finally lifted off from Florida late Sunday night.
When high winds calmed around the launch pad at approximately 8:26 p.m. Eastern, the rocket took off.
SpaceX Cancels Falcon Heavy Launch Attempt
The Falcon Heavy launch was postponed three days in a row prior to the weekend. At least one of them, on Thursday, was specifically attributed to the weather, but storms were a concern on each of the three days. Saturday presented an opportunity for a launch, but SpaceX decided not to take advantage of it due to heightened weather concerns.
Thursday’s scrub had set the stage for SpaceX to launch twice on Friday from Florida, but it was not to be. The first, a Falcon 9, took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:12 p.m. on Friday, as scheduled.
The second Falcon Heavy launch from the adjacent Kennedy Space Center was aborted with 59 seconds remaining on the countdown clock. Not immediately announced was the reason for Friday’s cancellation.
History Of Falcon Heavy Launches
The 45th Weather Squadron of the U.S. Space Force, which issues official launch-day forecasts, originally predicted a 30% chance of favorable conditions for Friday’s Falcon Heavy launch.
SpaceX reported that during the Heavy launch window, conditions improved over time.
According to Florida Today, the launch schedule had the potential to set a record for the shortest time between launches at one point.
The current record of 90 minutes was established in 1966 during the Gemini program, according to the news source.
The launch had been delayed twice previously, including on Thursday, due to severe weather and numerous tornado warnings in the region. At least one warning included Kennedy Space Center, where gusts of wind between 47 and 60 mph were reported.
The rocket’s payload will include a satellite for high-speed communications.
Falcon Heavy is SpaceX’s most powerful operational rocket, with a launch thrust equivalent to eighteen Boeing 747s. Larger than the workhorse Falcon 9, it is the progenitor of the Super Heavy, which powered SpaceX’s first Starship test flight last week, which resulted in a fiery explosion.
The initial Falcon Heavy launch, which occurred on February 6, 2018, sent a red Tesla roadster owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk into orbit, with a Starman mannequin in the driver’s seat. Since then, a handful of Falcon Heavy launches have occurred, occasionally drawing large crowds to the Space Coast of Florida.
The possibility of a double booster landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is an attractive aspect of a Falcon Heavy launch. The boosters cannot be recovered this time due to the rocket’s payload and other factors.
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