SpaceX to launch world’s most powerful rocket by ‘end of January’

SpaceX also plans to attempt a world first with the launch of Falcon Heavy — the company will attempt to simultaneously land and recover all three of its first-stage rocket cores.

Aerospace company SpaceX is set to launch Falcon Heavy — the world’s most powerful rocket — by the end of January, founder Elon Musk has announced.

An artist’s representation of Falcon Heavy, a 230-foot-tall rocket which is capable of carrying a payload of more than 54 tons. (Courtesy: SpaceX)

SpaceX also plans to attempt a world first with the launch of Falcon Heavy — the company will attempt to simultaneously land and recover all three of its first-stage rocket cores. So, it has only attempted recovering a single core.

According to Musk, the Falcon Heavy is the “most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two”, and with 2,500 tons of thrust, is the equivalent of “18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle”. The 230-foot-tall rocket, which is capable of carrying a payload of more than 54 tons, will be launched at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, where it has already been rolled out.

The company is set to carry out a test fire next week, with Musk— also the CEO of Tesla Inc — stating that the payload will comprise the all-electric sports car Tesla Roadster playing rocker David Bowie’s Space Oddity.

The date of the full launch is yet to be announced. If it fails, the Falcon Heavy could end up in a massive explosion over the Atlantic Ocean, CNET reported.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch a top secret US government spacecraft, known as Zuma, on Sunday.

The Falcon Heavy has suffered multiple delays. Last year, Musk admitted that the development of the rocket had been “way harder” than he had anticipated, CNBC reported. Its success will be another step towards Musk’s plan to colonise Mars.

To date, SpaceX has launched 49 rockets, of which 44 have been successful. It is the only aerospace company that is actively aiming to make all its rocket cores reusable.