SpaceX set to debut
Falcon Heavy this year
By Cole Jetton
After a ‘very fast fire’, a four-month hiatus, a com-
plicated anomaly, and a general shaking of confi-
dence, SpaceX was finally able to launch – and land
– their Falcon 9 rocket once again last month. This
is the first of 27 missions for 2017, a slate of launches
that will not only introduce the final version of the
Falcon 9, but will also include SpaceX’s next great
launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy.
Launching from the Kennedy Space Center at
Launch Pad 39A, the maiden flight of the Falcon
Heavy will lift off with 5,180,000 pounds of thrust. It’s
two boosters will run through most of their fuel first,
then separate from the center core to prepare for
landing maneuvers, a trademark of SpaceX’s tech-
nology. Firing up its center engine during decent,
and with the four steering grids, the two boosters
simultaneously maneuver themselves to soft landings
onto either one of SpaceX’s barges or landing pads
on mainland. Cruising far above them, the center
core separates from the upper stage, delivering the
demonstration payload into orbit. As before, the
main stage flips its orientation, and begins its own de-
cent. If everything goes as planned, SpaceX will be
able to bring home all of its three rockets
Announced in April of 2011, the Falcon Heavy
builds off the success of the Falcon 9 program, dou-
bling SpaceX’s current payload capacity. With the
goal of almost full reusability, and a price tag of only
$90 million, the Falcon Heavy rocket acts as the next
step of SpaceX’s journey to Mars.
At the center of the rocket stands a Falcon 9 Full
Thrust, and on either side are two Falcon 9 first stages,
which act as boosters for the rocket. Using Falcon
9 parts eliminates the need to develop alternative
boosters, cutting down on developmental costs and
complexity while increasing reliability. Each core has
nine engines, and with each engine having a thrust-
to-weight ration of 1:180, this will be both the most
efficient and powerful rocket on the market.
Stacked on top on the center core is the upper
stage, which is powered by another Merlin engine.
However this one is different, designed both to work
in a vacuum and have a long and wider nozzle than
those at the base of the rocket. A wider nozzle is nec-
essary for optimal performance in a vacuum. This is
because a rocket engine is most efficient when the
pressure of the propellant exiting the nozzle is equal
to its surrounding. For this type of nozzle, the wider the
exit point, the lower the pressure.
While the Falcon Heavy is a technological marvel,
the cost alone stands as a testament to the culture
of persistence at SpaceX. The staggeringly low $90
million price tag allows for a lower “price-per-pound”
for space missions, which brings launch costs down
to as low as $750 per pound to low Earth orbit. Com-
pare that to almost $6,000 per pound for the Delta IV
Heavy – currently the most powerful rocket – and the
decision of which to go with is quite clear. If anything,
it shows the economic effectiveness of reusability.
Unsurprisingly, Elon Musk has been adamant about
utilizing reusable rockets, a step that he believes is
necessary in order to even consider colonizing other
worlds. In September 2016, Musk unveiled the first de-
tails about the long rumored Interplanetary Transport
System, an exploration platform that could open up
the entire solar system to us. However, as inspiring
as that is, it important to remind ourselves not to get
too distracted with the next generation of space sys-
tems. The hard working scientists and engineers must
remained focused, and take this one day at a time,
perfecting the Falcon 9 and preparing for more rapid
reuse and frequent flights.
A goal of the Falcon Heavy is the completion of
the 2018 Red Dragon mission. This will be SpaceX’s
first time venturing out of Earth’s orbit, working with
NASA to land their Dragon v2 spacecraft on the sur-
face of Mars. The team is working closely with NASA
engineers, and is currently on track for a 2018 launch
date, delivering their craft on a Trans-Mars Injection
using a Falcon Heavy. NASA will be providing techni-
cal support for the company, sharing all the neces-
sary information that they have learned from their
previous Mars missions. If they succeed, then they
shall be the first company to land on another planet
in our solar system, a feat not many countries can
even claim. Looking forward with optimism, it seems
as if SpaceX has a bright future ahead of them.
43
www. RocketSTEM .org 43