SpaceX Falcon Heavy lofts USSF-44 on first flight in three years - NASASpaceFlight.com - NASASpaceflight.com

The world’s astir almighty operational rocket, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, took to the Florida skies for the archetypal clip successful implicit 3 years connected Nov. 1 for the USSF-44 mission, a US Space Force contracted formation with a classified payload and astatine slightest 1 rideshare satellite.

Liftoff occurred close connected clip astatine 9:41 AM EDT (13:41 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) astatine the Kennedy Space Center. Several hours later, the US Space Force confirmed the ngo was a success.

On this mission, the Falcon Heavy rocket reached a caller milestone connected its fourth-ever flight. This was some Falcon Heavy’s and SpaceX’s archetypal ngo nonstop to geostationary orbit (GEO). To execute this direct-to-GEO trajectory, the Falcon Heavy precocious stagehad a multi-hour seashore signifier betwixt the GTO and GEO insertion burns.

Traditionally, astir missions, including Falcon 9 flights, nonstop payloads destined for GEO into a geostationary transportation orbit (GTO). This allows the spacecraft to propel itself into its eventual last orbit successful GEO much than 35,200 km (22,000 mi) supra the Earth alternatively than the motorboat vehicle.

Onboard were astatine slightest 2 antithetic spacecraft: TETRA-1 and a 2nd chartless satellite. There was the anticipation that determination were further classified payloads onboard, but nonstop details were not released earlier liftoff.

TETRA-1 was designed and built by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing company. Completed successful 2020, TETRA-1 is simply a microsatellite created for assorted prototype missions successful and astir GEO. TETRA-1 was the archetypal prototype grant nether the US Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Enterprise Consortium Other Transaction Authority (OTA) charter. The spacecraft is based connected the ALTAIR-class tiny outer merchandise line. It is the archetypal ALTAIR outer to suffice for operations successful GEO.

The mission, primitively procured arsenic AFSPC-44 for the US Air Force, outgo astir $150 cardinal backmost successful 2019 and was scheduled for liftoff nary earlier than Q4 of 2020. However, the ngo faced aggregate delays arsenic a effect of what officials called “payload readiness” issues. The nonstop readiness problems were not publically released.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is made up of 3 boosters connected its archetypal stage: a halfway center booster and 2 broadside boosters. Each contains 9 Merlin-1D engines, the aforesaid magnitude arsenic a accepted Falcon 9. While the broadside boosters tin beryllium converted for usage arsenic Falcon 9s, the halfway center is enhanced to withstand the forces of liftoff that travel with being connected to the broadside boosters and cannot beryllium converted.

This ngo utilized 3 brand-new boosters. The broadside boosters, B1064 and B1065, landed astatine Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) astatine the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Back successful 2021, officials initially announced these boosters would onshore connected 2 barges floating downrange. However, it was changed precocious to a instrumentality to motorboat tract (RTLS) profile, resulting successful near-simultaneous landings astatine LZ-1 and LZ-2.

As a effect of the challenging motorboat profile, the caller halfway core, B1066, was expended aft completing its mission.

I heard a rocket motorboat today. A Falcon Heavy truly did motorboat the USSF-44 ngo and you tin work each astir it oregon cheque retired the @NASASpaceflight livestream replay.https://t.co/vak4RsG7uChttps://t.co/80txPxBTZj pic.twitter.com/ijFBakJY2Q

— Julia Bergeron (@julia_bergeron) November 1, 2022

At T-50 minutes, the archetypal signifier began to capable with RP-1, a refined signifier of kerosene. About 5 minutes later, archetypal signifier liquid oxygen (LOX) capable began. The archetypal stage, including the halfway and broadside boosters, held astir 287,000 kg of LOX and 123,000 kg of RP-1 erstwhile full.

At T-35 minutes earlier liftoff, the 2nd signifier began receiving RP-1, followed by LOX loading astir 17 minutes later.

At T-7 minutes until liftoff, the 27 Merlin 1D engines were chilled earlier ignition. Shortly earlier T-1 minute, Falcon Heavy’s onboard computers took implicit power of the number arsenic the conveyance was “in startup,” followed soon aft by tanks reaching formation pressure.

Just earlier liftoff, the 27 engines connected the broadside boosters and halfway began a staggered ignition process with the assistance of TEA/TEB. Once each engines reached afloat thrust, the conveyance checked its health. With each systems nominal, 5.1 cardinal pounds of thrust propelled the conveyance distant from LC-39A.

Less than a infinitesimal aft launch, Falcon Heavy reached Max-Q, erstwhile the conveyance endured the maximum dynamic forces during the flight.

All 27 engines continued to pain until astir 2 and a fractional minutes aft liftoff, erstwhile some broadside boosters chopped off, followed by separation seconds later. Those boosters past performed a maneuver to flip themselves astir earlier conducting their 2nd burn, called a boostback burn, which enactment B1064 and B1065 connected people to instrumentality to LZ-1 and LZ-2.

About 3 and a fractional minutes into the flight, the halfway booster unopen down its 9 engines earlier separating from the 2nd stage. Then, the Stage 2 Merlin Vacuum (MVac) motor ignited successful a process known arsenic 2nd motor commencement 1 (SES-1). Shortly after, the payload fairing halves, which protected the USSF-44 payloads earlier the conveyance entered space, separated and fell backmost to Earth to beryllium recovered.

Meanwhile, a small much than 7 minutes aft lifting off, the 2 broadside boosters began their introduction pain arsenic they erstwhile again encountered Earth’s atmosphere. That enactment them connected way for 1 last pain for each broadside booster, known arsenic the landing burn. This last relight slowed the vehicles down until each mildly touched down astatine LZ-1 and LZ-2 seconds isolated from each other, completing their ngo astir 8 and a fractional minutes aft archetypal lifting disconnected a fewer miles away.

These landings marked SpaceX’s 150th and 151st palmy landings of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters.
As this was happening, the 2nd signifier completed its archetypal pain starring to 2nd motor cutoff 1 (SECO-1). The adjacent measurement progressive a 2nd relight, propelling the 2nd signifier and payloads to an apogee adjacent geostationary altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi).

At this point, the conveyance entered an extended seashore phase. A peculiar grey overgarment furniture connected the 2nd stage’s RP-1 tank, which was applied earlier launch, guarantee that the RP-1 did not frost during the vehicle’s agelong spread betwixt burns.

Following the multi-hour seashore phase, 1 last relight, SES-3, helped circularize the orbit earlier deploying the satellites. The 2nd signifier volition participate a graveyard orbit distant from the recently deployed satellites.

This ngo was SpaceX’s 50th orbital motorboat this year, a grounds for the company, and the 4th Falcon Heavy motorboat ever. Despite the caller three-year gap, the Falcon Heavy motorboat manifest remains busy, including military, civil, and commercialized launches scheduled passim the coming years.

(Lead image: Falcon Heavy launches connected the USSF-44 mission. Credit: Stephen Marr for NSF)