SpaceX Falcon Heavy Sticks Triple Rocket Landing with 1st Commercial Launch

[Judi Lynn]

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Sticks Triple Rocket Landing with 1st Commercial Launch
By Amy Thompson 36 minutes ago

Falcon Heavy is officially in business.


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's Falcon Heavy successfully launched its first operational mission today (April 11), sticking a triple-rocket landing more than a year after its demo mission catapulted a cherry-red Tesla and a dummy nicknamed Starman into space.

The megarocket, dubbed the most powerful launcher in operation, blasted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT). It lifted off here from the same site that once hosted NASA's Apollo moon missions and its fleet of space shuttles: historic Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. About 34 minutes later, the rocket deployed Arabsat-6A, an advanced communications satellite that will provide internet and communications services to residents of the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe.

Falcon Heavy's second flight went off without a hitch at the beginning of a 2-hour window after high upper level winds thwarted SpaceX's second launch attempt. A day earlier, Falcon Heavy faced a 24-hour delay due to poor weather at the launch pad. A dismal weather forecast for Tuesday (April 9) convinced launch officials to issue a delay rather than face just a 30% chance of favorable weather.

Today's flight was the first of a Falcon Heavy launch featuring souped-up Block 5 versions of its component rockets. (A Falcon Heavy rocket is built of three Falcon 9 first stages, which are combined to form the 27-engine megarocket.) As the rocket's first-stage engines roared to life, they fired in unison and spewed smoke and fire around the launch pad.

More:
https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-triple-rocket-landing-success.html?utm_source=notification

[Historic NY]

1. Simply amazing....

[CaptainTruth]

2. The launch was awesome from my back yard!

Lots of rumble, & we had a really clear sky so I could even see the "back burn" when the side boosters turned around & fired their engines to return to earth, & I even saw the landing burns when the boosters fired their engines to land at Kennedy, for a few seconds anyway, until my neighbor's house blocked the view.

[Duppers]

3. Wow, very cool.

[Judi Lynn]

4. OMG! Have never heard of anyone who could see that event from a yard! Yikes.

Can't even imagine how that must have looked, to be able to actually see it in person.

Very cool.

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. Space Shuttle launches were clearly visible 100+ miles away

I used to watch them from my front yard.

If they sky was clear, you could see the boosters separate and slowly tumble away.

Unfortunately, that also meant that me, my mom and my sister got to see Challenger
break apart...