Thursday 7 April 2011

SpaceX to launch the most powerful rocket since the Apollo era

This is a bit of a follow up from my last post, which was only a video.

The new rocket, called Falcon 9-Heavy, will have a lift off power of 17 meganewtons, which makes it the most powerful rocket since Saturn V, the "Moon Rocket". The rocket should be capable of putting 53 metric tonnes of payload into orbit, which is more than twice that of the space shuttle.

The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk has also said that the rocket would be made safe enought to launch people. It is for example designed to meet NASA human rating safety standards. It has structural safety margins that are 40% above the actual flight loads.
The performance of the rocket could make more ambitious space missions beyond the ISS possible, although SpaceX has stressed that an even bigger rocket would be needed for any manned missions to Mars, as the equipment required for any such mission is far heavier.

The Falcon 9-Heavy. (Image Credit: SpaceX)


The first flight will take place in 2013 from Vandenberg Air Force Base with future missions also planned at Cape Canaveral in Florida.


 Animation of the Falcon 9-Heavy.

19 comments:

  1. i heard the other day that spacex can build a whole rocket for the amount of money that it takes nasa to build just the launch tower.

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  2. I wish the scientists will find a new power that would make flying threw space no faster and cheaper...the oil on earth can end sometime and we need to find new technology.

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  3. awesome, would love to see it launch!

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  4. Not able to get to mars yet, but the building blocks are starting to form.

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  5. Wow....imagine all the possibilities that comes with this huge rocket.

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  6. We have similar interests :) Very interesting article..

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  7. very interested in seeing how this turns out.

    following.

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  8. Damn, that looks intense...

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  9. wow it's only taken us 60 years to get a rocket more powerful!

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  10. that graphic makes the rocket look super-cool. sucks that we won't have a rocket until 2013 though.

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  11. that rocket looks super smooth and cool

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  12. let's see if they manage to do it.

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  13. let's just see them pull it off, or not.

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