SpaceX will launch its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday evening to carry a communications satellite into orbit.
Why it matters: The launch will be the first time this rocket, which is the most powerful operational rocket on the market right now, will be used to launch a payload for a customer. SpaceX tested the rocket last February, along with simultaneous booster landings in Florida, to carry a red Tesla roadster into deep space.
Details: The launch on Wednesday, which will be broadcast live online, is scheduled to take place during a launch window beginning at 6:35 pm ET and ending at 8:32 pm ET.
- Falcon Heavy’s 27 Merlin engines generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, SpaceX said Wednesday.
- The rocket is essentially the combination of 3 Falcon 9 rocket cores.
- It can loft more than 140,000 pounds of cargo into low Earth orbit, beating the capabilities of the United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy by about 77,000 pounds.
- The cargo for Wednesday night is known as Arabsat-6A, which is a communications satellite for Saudi Arabia.
Between the lines: When the Falcon Heavy debuted, it lacked a long list of launch customers, unlike the Falcon 9, which has become a common sight in the skies around Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
- A successful launch on Wednesday could generate more interest, although the company has existing orders now from the Air Force, Inmarsat and the global communications company company Viasat.
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