The Falcon Heavy
Fierce. Fiery. Mesmerizing. Three perfect words to describe SpaceX's rocket, the Falcon Heavy.
The Falcon Heavy was created in hopes of cutting the cost of space travel in half. This was seen in 2018 when the Falcon Heavy was first launched. The Falcon Heavy was carrying about 53,000 kilograms of cargo into space, almost double the cargo capacity of its competitor, Boeing Company’s Delta IV Heavy. What is even more magnificent is that SpaceX and Elon Musk were able to do this with only one-third of the cost!
As I have said before, rockets are very expensive, they are about 500 million dollars in order for it to be built and launched, but SpaceX is cutting down that cost immensely. Not to mention, the implementation of the Falcon 9, a reusable rocket.
The specifications of the Falcon Heavy;
-70 meters tall
-12.2 meters wide
-1,420,788 kg
-5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff
This rocket is heavy, but mighty, and can aid humanity in advancing to Mars and other celestial bodies. A new rocket, however, named the Big Falcon Rocket, is also being created to send people and cargo into space. This is a larger, more powerful, and assumingely more costly rocket that will hold more fuel and cargo so that the mission to Mars is much smoother than relying on a smaller rocket. But when is there a line drawn about how much a rocket can cost? When do scientists start to question if spending so much money could benefit humanity? The Falcon Heavy has the capabilities of sending people to Mars and resupplying the International Space Station, but why would there be a need for an even larger rocket?
Tune in to another post about the BFR to learn more, but for now, the force of the Falcon Heavy can be felt all over the world.
Stay Curious :)
-Bailley G
Sources From Today:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Falcon-Heavy