The Falcon Heavy rocket was rolled out to Launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center around 10:30 a.m. December 28.
There, Falcon Heavy it has undergone a number of tests, including the all-important static-fire testing of all 27 of its Merlin engines on Wednesday, January 24. Check out Elon Musk’s raw video of the static-fire test.
My raw video of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy static-fire at Kennedy Space Center. Come for the cloud plumes, stay for the sound.
A French space reporter just yelled “It’s like the 4th of July!” vJssukqgIz
— Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) January 24, 2018
And yes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave its official blessing to the launch when it issued a license to SpaceX on Friday for “A flight of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) transporting the modified Tesla Roadster (mass simulator) to a hyperbolic orbit.”
SpaceX confirmed in a press release on Saturday that it’s targeting the launch for Tuesday during a two-and-a-half hour window that begins at 10:30 a.m. PT Tuesday, and if everything is perfect, all 27 engines will ignite and Falcon Heavy will lift-off.
A historic, symbolic and spectacular launch
From a historical perspective, we must remember that the Falcon Heavy will be launched from the same launch pad that NASA used for Apollo 11 to send Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon. And it is symbolic that Elon Musk wanted to use the same launch pad because he views the launch on Tuesday as a “stepping stone to returning humans to destinations beyond orbit, including the moon and Mars,” according to CNET.
But keep in mind that Musk has tried to temper the public’s excitement by telling us the whole launch could end up as a spectacular, but explosive failure. On December 1, 2017, Musk Tweeted: “Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.”
If the launch of the Falcon Heavy goes well, we will be treated to another SpaceX first, and in itself, a sort of spectacle – SpaceX will attempt to recover not two, but all three first-stage booster rockets. Two will aim for landings at Cape Canaveral in Florida, while one, the center core, will attempt to land on a drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You, at sea.
Fortune points out that SpaceX has nearly perfected the recovery of its booster rockets To date, SpaceX has successfully landed nine boosters on land and 12 on a drone ship at sea.
Oh, and just so everyone will know ahead of time – SpaceX is warning area residents they are likely to hear multiple sonic booms during the booster landings — assuming everything goes according to plan.
