SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has shared a video teaser of his company鈥檚 highly-anticipated Falcon Heavy rocket, along with a word of caution acknowledging there鈥檚 a lot that could go wrong in its maiden voyage this November.
In a recent Instagram post, Musk says the massive craft will boast 鈥渢wice the thrust of the next largest rocket currently flying,鈥� and will clock in at roughly two-thirds the thrust of the Saturn V rocket, which carried the first manned moon missions into space. The Falcon Heavy features three massive rocket boosters with nine engines in each, meaning a total of 27 boosters will be firing to blast the vessel into orbit.
鈥淭his is a heavy lifter that we are talking about. It has to be a monster size to be able to do the job,鈥� National Geographic astronomy columnist Andrew Fazekas told CTV News Channel.
A video animation accompanying Musk鈥檚 post shows the rocket in action. If all goes according to plan, the three-engine rocket will blast off from its launch pad in Florida before shedding its first two boosters in low orbit, followed by the jettisoning of the third booster higher up, while the payload continues on to its intended destination. All three boosters are designed to make a controlled descent back to Earth, where they should be able to land for future re-use.
The key word, of course, is 鈥渟hould,鈥� as SpaceX鈥檚 rocket program has seen its share of explosive (and expensive) setbacks in the past.
鈥淚 think Elon just wants to curtail any of the excitement out there,鈥� Fazekas said.
The latest mishap occurred on Sept. 1, 2016, when a fuelling error caused a Falcon 9 rocket to explode on the launch pad, destroying the US$200-million Facebook satellite it was supposed to launch into orbit.
Another launch failed in-flight in June of 2015, while several drone-controlled booster landings have also failed in recent years.
鈥淟ot that can go wrong in the November launch鈥︹�� Musk said in his Instagram post.
SpaceX is expected to play an integral role in future manned missions to Mars and beyond.
鈥淭his is the rocket that will enable us to do that,鈥� Fazekas said. 鈥淭his is going to be very important, to have such a large rocket if we are going to build spaceships that will take us to Mars, which is at least a six-month journey.鈥�
SpaceX has not outlined a timetable for further tests. Fazekas expects it will be at least two years before a manned mission with a Falcon Heavy rocket will be viable. Humans actually setting foot on Mars, he predicts, is still decades away.
鈥淚f we are looking at getting onto Mars, taking this rocket technology and using it with a manned mission to the Red Planet, we鈥檙e talking in the late 2020s or early 2030s for that to happen,鈥� he said.
The California-based aerospace manufacturer actually advertises, in case you've got a satellite you'd like to launch into orbit.
鈥淢odest discounts are available for contractually committed, multi-launch purchases,鈥� SpaceX says. A Falcon 9 launch will set you back US$62 million, while a Falcon Heavy launch will cost $90 million.
Assuming, of course, nothing goes wrong with the launch in November.
