Falcon Heavy

Falcon Heavy Prototype on the LC-39A (December 2017)

First launch (test flight) of the Falcon Heavy on February 6, 2018

The Falcon Heavy is a heavy-duty launch vehicle from the US manufacturer SpaceX . It consists of three modified, reusable first stages of the Falcon 9 rocket and a Falcon 9 second stage. The first test flight of a prototype took place on February 6, 2018, the first commercial flight on April 12, 2019 (both CEST ).

With a transport capacity of up to 63.8 tons, the Falcon Heavy is by far the most powerful launcher available. Historically, it is only surpassed by the Saturn 5 (13 successful flights 1967–1973) and the Energija (2 successful flights 1987–1988). Contrary to the original plans, the Falcon Heavy should only be used for unmanned missions .

Mission profiles

Earth orbit

The Falcon Heavy can transport heavy satellites into earth orbit - in contrast to the Falcon 9, it can also transport them directly into a geostationary orbit . For a low earth orbit (LEO) the maximum payload is given as 63,800 kg, for a geotransfer orbit (GTO) with 26,700 kg. If the two side boosters and, if necessary, the central first stage are to be recovered, the maximum payload is reduced because the full burning time of the stage cannot be used.

A particularly lucrative market is the launch of US military and intelligence satellites. With its first flight, the Falcon Heavy qualified for participation in the relevant tenders and with the third flight in June 2019 for the execution of the take-off orders it has won since then.

To other celestial bodies

The Falcon Heavy can take space probes to other celestial bodies. For a mission to Mars , the maximum payload is specified as 16,800 kg, to Pluto as 3,500 kg. As part of the Artemis program of NASA , the rocket is also used for the transport of the Moon space station LOP G drawn and a lunar module into consideration.

Missions to the surface of Mars were planned under the name Red Dragon with unmanned Dragon V2 spaceships ; the first start should have taken place in 2020 at the earliest. However, this was discarded in favor of the Starship under development , which is better suited for this purpose.

Space tourism

At times there was also talk of using the Falcon Heavy for manned Dragon V2 flights. For example, two space tourists whose names were not published at the time (including the Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa ) were supposed to go around the moon. The end of 2018 was announced as the start date. On February 5, 2018, one day before the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that no more manned flights are planned with the Falcon Heavy.

Take-off and landing areas

SpaceX uses Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral in Florida as the main launch site for the Falcon Heavy . It was rented for 20 years in 2014. The necessary modifications were partially carried out between the Falcon 9 take-offs there. The Falcon Heavy took off from the LC-39A on its maiden flight on February 6, 2018.

First groundbreaking of the renovation work on the SLC-4E

SpaceX operates Landing Complex 1 with the Falcon 9 landing pad Landing Zone 1 (LC-1) 15 km away . In order to be able to land both boosters of the Falcon Heavy at the same time, an additional landing zone 2 (LZ2) was created here.

For polar orbits , which are practically inaccessible from Florida, SpaceX began in 2011 with the conversion of the Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California , from which Titan IVB rockets had previously launched . The first Falcon Heavy flight was supposed to take place there. Instead, the SLC-4E has so far only been used for Falcon 9 launches. Landings take place on the directly adjacent former Launch Complex 4W .

In addition, the construction of a third launch site on the SpaceX South Texas Launch Site in southern Texas was planned. It should have been operational in 2016. Boca Chica is two and a half latitudes closer to the equator than Cape Canaveral, which would allow slightly larger payloads for GTO missions. Instead, this area is now used for the development and testing of the SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy rockets .

For water landings in the Atlantic , SpaceX operates two floating platforms ( autonomous spaceport drone ship ) on the US east coast. One of the two platforms was stationed on the US west coast until the end of 2019. A third ship is under construction.

development

Postponements of the first launch of the Falcon Heavy

As early as 2005, when the Falcon 9 was still in the early development stage, SpaceX was striving to build a more powerful variant with two additional boosters. In 2009 Elon Musk announced the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight in 2012. Two years later a start for 2013 was announced, but this was postponed year after year due to delays in development. Elon Musk cited the complexity of the project as the reason, which was greatly underestimated. The change from one to three cores was "shockingly complicated". "We were pretty naive about that."

While the Falcon 9 to ever more powerful versions was further developed , also the planned payload capacity of the Falcon Heavy enlarged. In 2006, SpaceX published performance data for the first time and stated a maximum of 25 tons of payload for transport into low earth orbit - slightly more than has been possible with the Falcon 9 v1.2 since 2015. In 2011 this number had increased to 53 tons. In April 2016 it rose to 54.4 tons and in April 2017 it increased further to 63.8 tons. The capacity for transport to a geostationary transfer runway increased accordingly.

In August 2017, one copy of the first stage and one of both boosters was finally completed, and the three components were tested individually. The engine test of the finished rocket, which is customary at SpaceX, took place on January 24, 2018 on launch pad 39A. On February 6, the first flight took place from there after two hours of weather-related delay . A Tesla Roadster electric car (curb weight approx. 1,200 kg) owned by Elon Musk was brought into an Earth-Mars orbit around the sun as a "payload" . The cost of developing the missile until that time estimated Elon Musk to over 500 million US dollars . They were fully funded by the company, with no government subsidies.

Structure and functionality

Falcon Heavy (right) compared to Falcon 1 (left) and Falcon 9

Overall system

The Falcon Heavy is a two-stage rocket with two additional side boosters that are similar to the first stage. Its structure corresponds to that of the Delta IV Heavy, which is 10-15 years older .

The four parts of the Falcon Heavy are powered by a total of 28 Merlin 1D rocket engines. All engines can be ignited multiple times; a hypergolic mixture of triethylaluminum and triethylborane (so-called TEA-TEB) is used for this. The fuel used is cooled RP-1 , a highly refined kerosene . Extremely deep-frozen liquid oxygen with a temperature of around −207 ° C is used as the oxidizer . This deep freezing of the oxygen is a special feature of the Falcon rockets and is one of the decisive factors for their reusability, because it increases the density of the oxygen by around 8 percent. In this way, additional fuel and oxidizer can be loaded, which is required for landing.

Another special feature of the Falcon rockets is the completely non-destructive stage separation: unlike conventional rockets, the boosters and the second stage are not released and pushed away with explosive charges , but with pneumatic devices. This improves reusability and enables the separating device to be tested in advance.

The first Falcon Heavy built and flown was one of a kind . It was based on the Falcon 9 versions Block 3 and Block 4 , while the final, commercially used Heavy rocket is derived from the more powerful Block 5 version .

One of the engines of the first Falcon Heavy being assembled

First stage and booster

The lower part of the Falcon Heavy consists of a modified Falcon 9 first stage, to which two further modified Falcon 9 first stages are attached to the side. The middle component is called SpaceX center core and the side parts are called side cores . The terms “first stage” and “booster”, on the other hand, are used differently: Sometimes the first stage only refers to the center core , and sometimes the entire lower part of the rocket. Often only the side cores are referred to as “boosters” , but sometimes the center core as well . In this article, “first stage” only refers to the center core and “booster” only refers to the side cores .

According to Elon Musk, the middle unit has been "(almost) completely redesigned" and structurally reinforced in order to be able to absorb the forces exerted by the boosters. Each of the three components has - like the Falcon 9 first stage - a ring of eight engines with a ninth engine in the middle; SpaceX calls this arrangement Octaweb . All engines can be swiveled by means of hydraulic actuators in order to control the flight direction. SpaceX indicates the thrust with a total of 22,819  kN at sea level and 24,681 kN in a vacuum; this corresponds to about 845 or 914 kN for each of the 27 engines. The large number of engines is intended to achieve a high level of reliability, because in most cases it should be possible to compensate for the failure of one or more engines. In addition, through series production in large numbers, design and manufacturing errors can be identified and eliminated more quickly.

When starting, all 27 engines fire simultaneously; two seconds later, the release clamps are released and the rocket takes off. For the rest of the process, it was originally planned to supply the first stage with fuel from the boosters (propellant crossfeed) , so that the fuel of the boosters is used up first and this can be thrown off as early as possible to save weight. However, this technically complex solution was discarded. Instead, the thrust of the first stage is reduced shortly after the start, while the two boosters initially work at full power. Around the time of maximum aerodynamic load (Max-Q) and shortly before the booster is disconnected, its performance is also reduced.

Landing of the two boosters on February 6, 2018

In the case of a reusable configuration, the boosters are disconnected about 150 seconds after take-off, return automatically to the vicinity of the take-off point and land there on their four fold-out legs. After about another minute, the first and second stages separate and then land on one of the drone ships in the ocean. As with the Falcon 9, the engines are fired three times - first to slow down and, if necessary, to reverse the flight direction (boostback burn) and then to slow down again when reentrying into the atmosphere (reentry burn) ; The latter prevents overheating and structural overload due to atmospheric friction. Finally, 1–3 engines burn again during the last flight segment (landing burn) until they touch down gently on the landing site. During the entire process the attitude is operated nitrogen cold gas thrusters ( nitrogen thrusters , coll. "Thrusters") controlled addition during the descent through the atmosphere and by four grid fins (fins grid) made of titanium . The grid fins of the boosters have been changed compared to the Falcon 9 because the boosters are provided with a conical cover, which influences their aerodynamics .

In the non-reusable version, the grid fins and landing legs are omitted. A third option is partial reuse; here only the two side boosters land, either on land or on two drone ships.

The less fuel and material that has to be carried for landings, the higher the achievable top speed and thus the transport capacity of the rocket. Landing on land is worst; the return flight there requires a lot of fuel.

Intermediate stage

At the top of the first stage, the interstage is permanently mounted. It connects the two stages and envelops the engine nozzle of the second stage. The intermediate stage consists mainly of a tube made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in an aluminum honeycomb sandwich construction . The intermediate stage was also strengthened on the Falcon Heavy.

Second stage and payload section

The second stage of the Falcon Heavy was identical to the second stage of the Falcon 9 in the first model built. It has a Merlin 1D vacuum engine ( MVac-D for short ), which is separated from the 27 engines on the underside of the rocket through a larger exhaust nozzle differs. For the commercially available Falcon Heavy, SpaceX specifies an engine power of 934 kN and a burn time of up to 397 seconds. This can be divided into two or more sections by switching off and re-igniting the engine in order to fly complex orbit maneuvers.

Initially, the aim was to make the second stage reusable as well. This plan was later abandoned; then a landing attempt with the second stage in the sea was announced for 2018, but this did not take place.

In the second stage, the payload is attached to an adapter which of a two-part casing (fairing) enveloped made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and is protected. Due to the considerable manufacturing costs of 6 million US dollars each, SpaceX has been working on being able to reuse the payload fairing since the mid-2010s. It therefore has its own control system with cold gas engines and a steerable parachute. The special ship GO Ms. Tree catches the cladding halves with a large net or hides them out of the sea after a splash. SpaceX achieved its first reuse in space history in November 2019 with a half fairing that had previously been used for the launch of the Arabsat 6A satellite with a Falcon Heavy.

SpaceX is considering an extension of the second stage and / or the payload range, especially if the completion of the successor BFR is delayed.

Technical specifications

height	70 m		Thrust first stage + booster	22,819-24,681 kN
Diameter (one step)	3.66 m		Thrust second stage	934 kN
Payload fairing diameter	5.2 m		Max. Payload LEO 1	63,800 kg
Width at the base	12.2 m		Max. Payload GTO 1	26,700 kg
Maximum take-off mass	1,421 t		Max. Mars payload	16,800 kg
Fuel (all levels)	RP-1		Max. Payload Pluto 2	3,500 kg
Oxidizer (all stages)	fl. oxygen		1 From Cape Canaveral with a 28.5 ° incline.  2 In direct approach without swing-by maneuvers
Pressure medium	helium

Pricing

The price of booking a Falcon Heavy launch was $ 80-125 million in 2011 and rose to $ 90-150 million by 2018. This is around 50% higher than that for the Falcon 9, with almost three times the performance. The reason for the disproportionate price increase is the higher proportion of reusable components.

SpaceX states a price of 90 million US dollars on the company's website for the transport of up to 8 tons of payload in a geostationary transfer orbit. According to Elon Musk, the start will cost around 95 million US dollars if the two boosters each land on an autonomous spaceport drone ship and the central first stage is not reused. The maximum payload in this configuration should be around 10% lower than with one-way use of the booster.

Elon Musk gave the starting price for a completely non-reusable Falcon Heavy, which offers full transport capacity, at 150 million US dollars.

The Falcon Heavy is thus far cheaper than the second most powerful launcher available, the Delta IV Heavy with around 400 million US dollars per launch. For the transportation of the largest possible payload into low earth orbit, it is calculated that about 2,350 dollars per kg with the Falcon Heavy compared to 13,900 dollars / kg with the Delta IV Heavy and 2,720 dollars / kg with the Falcon 9. The Falcon Heavy is in in this respect the cheapest missile on the market. The planned BFR with a reusable upper level should again be significantly cheaper.

Starts

Canceled starts

Because of the delays in the development of the Falcon Heavy, several customers decided to launch their satellites with other missiles.

Intelsat placed the first order for a commercial launch of the Falcon Heavy in 2012. The 6.8-ton Intelsat 35e communications satellite was to be placed in a geostationary transfer orbit . Improved performance data of the Falcon 9 made it possible to rebook the mission to the latter; the launch finally took place on July 5, 2017 from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 with full utilization of the Falcon 9 power reserves.

Inmarsat planned to launch three heavy communications satellites with the Falcon Heavy. One of them was transferred to the Falcon 9 and took place on May 5, 2017, and another on June 28, 2017 with an Ariane 5 . The 6.4-ton ViaSat-2 also started in June 2017 with an Ariane 5 instead of - as planned - with the Falcon Heavy.

Performed starts

The Falcon Heavy has started three times so far. All three launches were successful in terms of the mission objective - placing the payloads in the desired orbits. Likewise, the landing and recovery of both boosters succeeded on all flights, while the first stages were lost for various reasons.

Serial No.	Date ( UTC ), result	First stage, booster 1	Launch site	Mission name payload	Type of payload	Payload in kg 2	Orbit 3
2018
1	February 6, 2018 8:45 PM Success	B1033 B1023.2 B1025.2	KSC LC-39A	Falcon Heavy Demo Tesla Roadster	Electric car as a mass simulator	circa 1250	Elliptical solar orbit in the range from Earth to Mars orbit
		→ Main article : Falcon Heavy Demonstration Mission Demonstration flight. Successful landing of both side boosters on landing zones 1 and 2 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ; Crash landing of the first stage next to the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic because there was insufficient ignition fluid ( TEA - TEB ) and only one of three engines ignited. (Photo: The Tesla Roadster with the "Starman" doll after take-off; the earth in the background)
2019
2	April 11, 2019 10:35 PM Success	B1055 B1052.1 B1053.1	KSC LC-39A	Arabsat 6A	Communications satellite	6465	Highly elliptical geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), apogee approx. 90,000 km
		First commercial launch; First Falcon Heavy launch of the Block 5 rocket version with 10% more thrust; successful triple landing, like the first flight on landing zones 1 and 2 and the floating platform Of Course I Still Love You . Due to heavy seas, however, the first stage overturned during the return journey and broke; the lower third could be salvaged. (Photo: Landing of the two boosters)
3	June 25, 2019 6:30 am Success	B1057.1 B1052.2 B1053.2	KSC LC-39A	STP-2, ELaNa XV DSX , Formosat 7A-7F, GPIM , OTB 1 ,15 other small satellites	military and scientific research satellites	600 6 × 278 180 138 approx. 260	MEO LEO LEO LEO LEO
		→ Main article : STP-2 Most complex Falcon flight to date with four ignitions of the second stage engine and 20 separate payload ejections in three orbit groups. Successful landing of both side boosters on landing zones 1 and 2; Crash landing of the first stage in the sea due to engine damage as a result of an extremely high landing speed as planned. For the first time it was possible to catch a half of the payload fairing with the special ship GO Ms. Tree . (Photo: The Falcon Heavy the day before take-off)

Planned launches

Last updated: April 23, 2020

Date ( UTC )	First stage, booster	Launch site	Mission name payload	Type of payload	Payload in kg 2	Orbit 3
From 2020
Fall 2020		KSC LC-39A	USSF-44 Tetra-1	2 military satellites experimental Cubesat	2 × approx. 2000	Geosynchronous orbit
Spring 2021		KSC LC-39A	USSF-52	military satellite	6350	Geosynchronous transfer orbit
2021-2022		KSC LC-39A	Viasat -3	Communications satellite	approx. 6400	Geostationary orbit
3rd quarter 2022		KSC LC-39A	Psyche Escapade Janus	Asteroid probe two Mars probes 2 asteroid probes		Escape route
after 2024		KSC LC-39A	Dragon XL (GLS 1)	Supply spaceship		Escape route
after 2024		KSC LC-39A	Dragon XL (GLS 2)	Supply spaceship		Escape route

¹Serial numbers; the suffix .1 or .2 stands for the first or second flight of the same component.

²Take-off mass of the payload including carried fuel (wet mass) .

³Railway on which the payload from the upper level is to be released. Not necessarily the target orbit of the payload.

Comparison with other heavy-duty rockets

The most powerful launch vehicles currently available or under development for low earth orbit (LEO) transport are:

	Starship / SH	Long March 9	SLS	Falcon Heavy	New Glenn	Angara A5B	Vulcan Centaur Heavy	Delta IV Heavy
Manufacturer	SpaceX	CALT	Boeing	SpaceX	Blue Origin	Khrunichev	ULA	ULA
stages	2	3	2	2	2	2-3	2	2
Side booster	-	4th	2	2	-	4th	2	2
Max. Payload (LEO)	150 t 3	140 t	95–130 t 1	64 t	45 t 3	37.5 t	35 t	29 t
Max. Payload ( GTO )	20 t (150 t 5 )	66 t	no information	27 t	13 t 3	8 t	16 t	10 t
reusable	Completely	?	No	First stage, side boosters, payload fairing 4	First stage	possibly first stage and side booster	First stage 2 engines	No
interplanetary missions	planned	planned	planned	Yes	possible	planned	planned	Yes
manned missions	planned	planned	planned	not planned	planned	planned	planned	No
First flight	approx. 2021	not before 2028	not before 2021	2018	not before 2021	not before 2027	not before 2023	2004

¹ Maximum of 95 t LEO payload in the first expansion stage of the rocket (Block 1), 105 t in the second (Block 1B) and 130 t in the third (Block 2).

² Planned for a later expansion stage; the engine unit should then return on a parachute and be recovered by helicopter.

³ Maximum payload when reusing all reusable components. A larger payload would be possible without reuse. With the New Glenn this is not planned, with the Starship it is a conceivable option.

⁴ Reuse of payload fairings is planned.

⁵ When refueling in orbit.

literature

• Eugen Reichl: Private space projects , Motorbuchverlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-613-03526-3
• Falcon Heavy. In: Bernd Leitenberger: US-Trägerraketen , Edition Raumfahrt, 2nd edition from 2016, ISBN 978-3-73923-547-9 , pp. 542-545

Web links

Commons : Falcon Heavy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• SpaceX: Falcon Heavy (English)
• Falcon Heavy Test Flight on YouTube ( Falcon Heavy test flight )
• Animated video of a Falcon Heavy launch
• Falcon User's Guide (PDF)

Individual evidence

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3. ^ Sandra Erwin: Falcon Heavy's first commercial launch to pave the way for reusable rockets in national security missions. In: Spacenews. March 25, 2019, accessed April 23, 2019 . 
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31. ^ ^{A b} Alan Chamberlin: HORIZONS Web Interface. Retrieved February 8, 2018 (English, enter -143205 as the target body and click on Generate Ephemeris .). 
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78. ↑ Stephen Clark: Live coverage: SpaceX's Falcon Heavy set for overnight launch. In: Spaceflight Now. June 24, 2019, accessed June 25, 2019 . 
79. ↑ Eric Ralph: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explains why Falcon Heavy's center core missed the drone ship. In: Teslarati. June 26, 2019, accessed June 25, 2019 . 
80. ↑ ^{a b} Twitter message from Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now, June 26, 2019.
81. ↑ Millennium Space delivers smallsat for upcoming US Space Force rideshare mission . Spacenews, April 21, 2020.
82. ↑ ^{a b} Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Phase 1A Competitive Acquisition for L-85, L-87, SILENTBARKER, SBIRS GEO-5, and AFSPC-44. United States Air Force , November 6, 2017, retrieved February 19, 2019 (pages 62-64). 
83. ^ ^{A b} Stephen Clark: US Air Force certifies Falcon Heavy rocket, awards launch contract. In: Spaceflight Now. June 26, 2018, accessed February 20, 2019 . 
84. ^ Caleb Henry: Viasat orders Asia Pacific ViaSat-3 from Boeing amid record revenue. In: Spacewnews. February 8, 2019, accessed April 30, 2019 . 
85. ^ NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Psyche Mission . NASA, February 28, 2020: "targeted to launch in July 2022".
86. ↑ The Timeline on the Psyche project website, accessed on March 3, 2020: "The spacecraft launches in August of 2022."
87. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Bergin: Dragon XL revealed as NASA ties SpaceX to Lunar Gateway supply contract . Nasaspaceflight.com, March 27, 2020.
88. ↑ Caleb Henry: SpaceX targets 2021 commercial Starship launch. In: Spacenews. June 28, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 . 
89. ^ Sandra Erwin: Falcon Heavy's first commercial launch to pave the way for reusable rockets in national security missions. In: Spacenews. March 25, 2019, accessed April 25, 2019 . 
90. ↑ Twitter message from Elon Musk, March 29, 2019.