SpaceX delays Falcon Heavy launch attempt until Sunday

Science & Tech 10:27 15.01.2023

The planned Saturday liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center has been delayed until Sunday. In what will be only the fifth ever flight of the powerhouse rocket, it's now set to blast off at 5:56 p.m. from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A with its 5.1 million pounds of thrust on a mission for the Space Force dubbed USSF-67. Falcon Heavy, which only falls second to NASA’s Space Launch System in terms of most powerful active rockets, is essentially three Falcon 9s strapped together providing 27 Merlin engines across the three first stages. SpaceX will attempt to recover both side stages aiming for a touchdown at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zones 1 and 2, which will provide a double sonic boom up and down the Space Coast as they break the sound barrier on their way down. SpaceX said the sonic booms could be heard in Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties depending on weather conditions. Sunset is at 5:48 p.m., so it should offer up some gorgeous views on launch and landing.

Space Launch Delta 45′s weather squadron had given Saturday’s launch attempt an 80% chance for good conditions, but winds remained heavy on the Space Coast during the day, although no reason was given by the Space Force or SpaceX for the delay. Sunday’s weather forecast, though, predicts better than a 90% chance for good conditions. The launch is the third from the Space Coast in 2023 in a year that could send up between 86 to 92 from among all rocket companies, according to SLD 45 commander Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy. So far, all launches have been by SpaceX. This is the second National Security Space Launch for Falcon Heavy having sent up USSF-44 in November. The rocket could send 141,000 pounds of payload to low-Earth orbit and nearly 60,000 pounds to the geosynchronous Earth orbit that’s the target of Sunday’s attempt.

“It greatly enhances out heavy lift capability,” said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency. “The measure of a spaceport really is not so much the number of launches but the total amount of payload that you can deliver to a useful destination to either achieve mission purpose or to create value.” This flight looks to send up the Space Force’s second Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM communications satellite, the first of which launched in 2018 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. The satellites send military data through space-based relay links, according to the Space Force. Also on board is the Long Duration Propulsive ESPA 3A, which is a ride-share satellite that can host or deploy up to six payloads, what Space Force officials call a “freight train to space.”

The Space Force said this mission will use five of the six slots including two for Space Systems Command called “catcher” and “WASSAT,” the details of which were not provided. Also flying are three payloads developed by the Space Rapid Capabilities Office: two operational prototypes for “enhanced situational awareness” and another operational “crypto/interface encryption” payload for secure space-to-ground communications. “This is a complex mission and truly represents what Assured Access to Space [a group that includes SLD 45 within Space Systems Command] is about and is why we’re so enthusiastic about this upcoming launch … our second Falcon Heavy in just months,” said Maj. Gen. Purdy. “The teamwork I’ve seen preparing for this launch has just been exceptional. We’ve worked side-by-side with SpaceX to ensure all boxes are checked … that all systems are go. And our processes for getting to that ‘go’ decision at [Launch Readiness Review] are thorough and constantly evolve, so they’re also more efficient than ever.” SpaceX has four more Falcon Heavy missions on the books for 2023 including a third Space Force mission dubbed USSF-52 expected in the first half of 2023. “I know the national security community is thrilled with the fact that the Falcon Heavy is not only proving itself capable, but it’s proving itself reliable,” DiBello said. “I think you’ll see an increasing dependence on the Falcon Heavy for launch capability for select payloads.” Also coming up for the rocket is the launch of commercial company ViaSat 3 Americas’ communications satellite expected before summer, another telecom satellite for Hughes Network Systems called the Jupiter 3 later in the year, and October’s launch of NASA’s Psyche probe headed the metal-rich asteroid of the same name that orbits the sun beyond Mars. Falcon Heavy has no problem sending payloads off toward Mars as proven by its first ever flight in 2018 that sent up Elon Musk’s Tesla roadster into space acting as the test payload for the new rocket. SpaceX followed that up with a commercial payload in April 2019 and then a Department of Defense mission in June 2019 before more than a three-year drought between launches three and four. Falcon Heavy will eventually make way for SpaceX’s in-development Starship and Super Heavy rocket, which could see its first orbital launch as early as February, Musk said this month. When it blasts off, it will more than triple the power of Falcon Heavy and if successful make it the most powerful rocket to ever launch from Earth. For now, though, Falcon Heavy, is one of the best shows in town, more than twice the power of United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy although short of SLS as well space shuttle and Apollo launches of the past. And Starship for now will only fly from Texas while SLS won’t lift off on Artemis II until at least 2024. So for sheer power, Falcon Heavy launches on the Space Coast are expected to draw out the crowds.

 

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Russia accuses Ukrainian military chief of ordering downing of war prisoner plane
22:10 05.07.2025
Türkiye supports firefighting operations in Syria’s Latakia
22:00 05.07.2025
UNRWA calls for immediate fuel delivery to Israel-blockaded Gaza before shutdown of basic services
21:45 05.07.2025
Pashinyan: Armenia needs new constitution
21:20 05.07.2025
UN chief condemns Russia's recent 'series of large-scale' attacks on Ukraine
21:00 05.07.2025
Kazakh servicemen arrive in Azerbaijan to participate in Tarlan - 2025 exercise
20:45 05.07.2025
Erdogan: US has crucial role in achieving ceasefire in Gaza
20:20 05.07.2025
Building collapse in Pakistan kills 15
19:45 05.07.2025
Turkish FM Fidan to attend 17th BRICS Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro
19:30 05.07.2025
Australia pledges $283M for green energy project by explosives maker
19:10 05.07.2025
OPEC+ speeds up oil output hikes, adds 548,000 bpd in August
18:45 05.07.2025
Inter completes signing of Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma
18:20 05.07.2025
Turkish president sees Zangazur corridor 'as part of the geoeconomic revolution'
18:00 05.07.2025
Turkish president urges Azerbaijan, Russia to show restrain amid tension
17:45 05.07.2025
China says war 'not a solution' to Iranian nuclear issue
17:15 05.07.2025
At least 18 people injured after fire alert on Ryanair plane in Majorca as passengers abandon jet & leap from wing
17:00 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani PM meets with UNESCAP executive secretary
16:45 05.07.2025
Lebanese president affirms coordination with Syria, warns against sectarian tensions
16:15 05.07.2025
21 killed in Israeli strikes on tents, school-turned-shelters in Gaza Strip
16:00 05.07.2025
Turkish construction sector takes on international projects worth $6.2B in first half of 2025
15:45 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani woman wrestler becomes European champion
15:30 05.07.2025
Mayor: Death toll in Russian attacks on Kyiv reached two
15:15 05.07.2025
Texas floods kill 24 people and leave many missing from girls' summer camp
14:45 05.07.2025
Conor McGregor has interest in White House fight after Trump's UFC idea
14:30 05.07.2025
Netanyahu era sees 40% surge in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
14:15 05.07.2025
Equatorial Guinea sues France in UN court to block sale of Paris mansion
14:00 05.07.2025
US president 'disappointed' over phone call with Putin
13:45 05.07.2025
Academy of Azerbaijan`s State Security Service hosts graduation ceremony
13:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan and Pakistan ink memo in Khankendi
13:15 05.07.2025
Trump says there could be Gaza deal next week
13:00 05.07.2025
First flight from Türkiye to Syria launched
12:45 05.07.2025
US marks its 249th anniversary of independence
12:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan's role in regional integration discussed at London conference
12:00 05.07.2025
Uzbek Minister: Mirziyoyev's visit to Azerbaijan crucial for dev’t of transport links
11:45 05.07.2025
Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week
11:30 05.07.2025
Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif concludes visit to Azerbaijan
11:15 05.07.2025
Pakistani premier proposes low-emissions corridor at Economic Cooperation Organization summit
11:00 05.07.2025
Rwanda pledges to deliver on its part of US-brokered peace deal with DR Congo
10:45 05.07.2025
Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm before end of Israeli ‘aggression’ against Lebanon
10:30 05.07.2025
Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal may come next week after ‘positive’ Hamas response
10:15 05.07.2025
Hamısı