SpaceX now aims to launch Falcon Heavy rocket launch classified military mission on Sunday - Space.com

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SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launches the USSF-44 ngo for the U.S. Space Force connected Nov. 1, 2022. (Image credit: SpaceX via Twitter)

Update: SpaceX is present aiming to motorboat its archetypal Falcon.Heavy rocket of 2023 connected Sunday, Jan. 15, astatine 5:56 p.m. EST (2256 GMT).

SpaceX's almighty Falcon Heavy rocket volition beryllium backmost successful enactment connected Sunday (Jan. 15), and you tin ticker the liftoff live.

A Falcon Heavy is scheduled to motorboat from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) successful Florida Sunday astatine 5:56 p.m. EST (2255 GMT), 1 time aboriginal than antecedently announced, connected a classified ngo for the U.S. Space Force called USSF-67.

Watch it unrecorded present astatine Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, oregon straight via the company. We'll big the company's webcast erstwhile the clip comes.

Another presumption of the 5th Falcon Heavy rocket successful a hangar astatine NASA's Kennedy Space Center up of a planned January 2023 launch. SpaceX posted this photograph connected Jan. 7.

Sunday's motorboat volition beryllium the 5th wide for the Falcon Heavy. The burly rocket debuted successful February 2018 with a memorable trial formation that sent SpaceX laminitis and CEO Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into orbit astir the sun, with a spacesuit-clad mannequin named Starman successful the driver's seat.

The Falcon Heavy launched again successful April 2019 and June 2019, sending operational satellites aloft each time. But the rocket didn't assistance disconnected again until November of past year, connected the USSF- 44 mission for the Space Force. The 40-month spread was owed chiefly to delays successful getting lawsuit payloads ready, according to abstraction manufacture analysts.

Like USSF-44, USSF-67 is simply a classified mission. We bash cognize a spot astir the coming flight, however.

The main payload is simply a subject communications outer called Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM 2, which the Falcon Heavy volition nonstop to geostationary orbit, astir 22,200 miles (35,700 kilometers) supra Earth. Also flying Saturday is simply a rideshare spacecraft called Long Duration Propulsive ESPA (LDPE)-3A, a payload adapter that tin clasp up to six tiny satellites, according to EverydayAstronaut.com (opens successful caller tab).

LDPE-3A volition transportation 5 Space Force payloads connected USSF-67. Among them are "two operational prototypes for enhanced situational consciousness and an operational prototype crypto/interface encryption payload providing unafraid space-to-ground communications capability," Space Force officials said successful an emailed connection connected Friday (Jan. 13).

The Falcon Heavy consists of 3 modified SpaceX Falcon 9 archetypal stages, which are strapped together. The cardinal booster is topped with a payload-carrying precocious stage.

Falcon Heavy archetypal stages are reusable, similar those of the Falcon 9. The 2 broadside boosters for USSF-67 volition beryllium launching for the 2nd time; they besides flew connected USSF-44, Space Force officials said. The USSF-67 halfway booster has not flown before.

If each goes according to plan, the 2 broadside boosters volition travel backmost to Earth soon aft liftoff connected Saturday, making vertical touchdowns astatine Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is adjacent doorway to KSC. The cardinal booster volition not return, alternatively ditching into the Atlantic Ocean.

USSF-67 is portion of a engaged week for SpaceX. The institution besides plans to motorboat 51 of its Starlink net satellites to debased Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 on Ja. 19. You tin ticker that ngo present astatine Space.com arsenic well.

Mike Wall is the writer of "Out There (opens successful caller tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a publication astir the hunt for alien life. Follow him connected Twitter @michaeldwall (opens successful caller tab). Follow america connected Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens successful caller tab) or Facebook (opens successful caller tab).

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Michael Wall is simply a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens successful caller tab) and joined the squad successful 2010. He chiefly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and subject space, but has been known to dabble successful the abstraction creation beat. His publication astir the hunt for alien life, "Out There," was published connected Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a subject writer, Michael worked arsenic a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. successful evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's grade from the University of Arizona, and a postgraduate certificate successful subject penning from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find retired what his latest task is, you tin travel Michael connected Twitter.

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