Falcon Heavy Launch - X37 Space Plane

[Startrek]

Space X Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch Tuesday 12th Dec around midday Aus EDT from the KSC pad 39A , subject to change.
The weather at the Cape this week hasn’t been stable so hopefully they get a clear window
Payload is a new experimental space plane X - 37B developed by the US Space Force.
Since Starship IFT3 probably won’t launch until January, this will be the final heavy lift launch for 2023.
Packing a whopping 5.1 million pounds of thrust , it’s going to be a spectacular sight.
I remember the first Falcon heavy launch back in 2018 which gave the world a taste of the past since the Apollo days (I was lucky enough to watch all the Apollo launches on my parents B&W TV as a 60’s “space kid”)

Martin

[Leo.G]

They need to make a Falcon Light, cheaper to launch, lol
I couldn't imagine having to pay to launch something into space, the cost is astronomical, I guess like astronomy, the sky is the limit?


I'm lucky enough to have known an elderly gentleman in the USA online who assisted a photographer during the Apollo 14 launch at a special NASA staging area. He was himself gifted a set of 5 slides with a letter giving him full rights signed by the photographer (a doctor of some description) My elderly friend (now feared passed) gifted said set of slides to me and I have them safe here. A real gem.

[Startrek]

Leo,
Thanks for replying
Space X have the cheapest launch vehicles by orders of magnitude compared to other space companies including NASA, due to re use ability , and they will only get cheaper in time ( including Starship )

You are certainly lucky to have those Apollo 14 slides ( keep them in a safe for prosperity
My Aunt in the US ( passed many years ago ) worked for Rocketdyne as a PA to one of the Managers in the propulsion dept during the Apollo era.
I have a bit of Apollo memorabilia she sent across to my folks in Australia ( bits and pieces mainly photos , stamps etc.. )
Wow what and era in human history
The next era has already started !!! next 10 years will be Apollo on steroids

Martin

[Leo.G]

Apollo was likely more amazing to me due to being a kid (born 60), Space X I still always ask "why are they trying to stand a pencil on it's end and wondering why they are having so many failures".
I guess that probably comes more from working with heavy equipment when younger and understanding how the foot print is often the stability.
You are also lucky to have the Apollo memorabilia you have.

[Startrek]

If you go back to 1958 to 1960 when the newly formed NASA was in a Space Race with the Russians , Atlas rockets ( Thrust 370,000 pounds) were blowing up every week down at the Cape until after 2 years they finally achieved a manned rated suborbital launch vehicle by 1961 in Redstone Mercury and an orbital vehicle in 1962 with Atlas Mercury.

During the late 60’s early 70’s the Saturn 5 ( Thrust 7.6 million pounds ) was one of the most successful heavy launch vehicles ever created. Not one blew up , it had to be as perfect as man could make for a Moon shot with over 400,000 people working on its success. The Saturn 5 was a totally expendable launch vehicle ( except for the command module )

Fast forward 60 years and Space X are now launching man rated Falcon 9’s ( Thrust 1.7 million pounds ) and 4 person Dragon capsules almost every week with almost the whole launch vehicle totally re usable.

What’s even more incredible, in less than 4 years of development , construction and testing , Space X have successfully launched 2 Starships ( Thrust 17 million pounds , soon to be upgraded to 19 million pounds ) with the intention of full re usability. The performance and efficiency ( thrust to weight ratio ) of the latest Raptor engines makes the Saturn 5 F1 engine of the Apollo era an ol boiler of an engine.
Starship IFT3 hopefully will launch in January 2024 with the expectation of a soft ocean landing for the booster and orbital flight of Starship. If not, I’m sure IFT4 during 2024 will be completely successful along with flights to follow and the ultimate goal of re usability.

Rockets blowing up during tests , especially ones that will be re used for future's flights is part of development. Re usability is the pinnacle of engineering and technology in rocketry and Space X has pushed far beyond what folk thought was actually possible.

Certainly an exciting future ………

[Andy01]

Update for Dec. 13: SpaceX will delay the launch until an undisclosed date "to perform additional system checkouts," the company posted on X (formerly Twitter). Keep watching Space.com for updates.

[Startrek]

Space X are now targeting the 28th December 2023 for a possible launch of Falcon Heavy
Florida weather in Winter is usually pretty stable, so hopefully a final launch for 2023.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1735837375744651476