Falcon Heavy Fans Will Have To Wait For The Next Launch Till Late 2020
All SpaceX missions involving Falcon Heavy have been successful till date. It also has further contracts with Viasat, Inmarsat and US Air Force for further missions as well. All of them will be launched at KSC, which is equipped for Falcon Heavy.
The next mission is by the US Air Force, named AFSPC-44 and will be launched in late 2020, as per Robert Bongiovi, who works with the US Air Force. Payloads have not yet been identified. The launch will see 2 payloads enter a geosynchronous orbit at 22,000 miles above Earth’s equator.US Air Force had asked prospective launch companies to assume payload weight at 3.7 MT tons.
This mission will require long coast phases, with over 5 hours between when the upper stage of the engine burns. Complex maneuvers are required for placing mission payloads in distinct orbits. Merlin and Falcon Heavy capabilities were also amply demonstrated this way before SpaceX was entrusted with bigger tasks.
After this rocket’s first flight during last year, the US Air Force approved its eligibility for national security-related launches. Many process and technical reviews are currently underway before national security satellites of a more expensive and critical kind is handed over to SpaceX.
Bongiovi stated that the STP-2 mission’s success would improve spaceflight worthiness before the launch scheduled for 2020.The current mission will also familiarize engineers at the US Air Force with booster recovery & reuse procedures at SpaceX, thus certifying formerly used rockets as safe enough.
Another Falcon mission is coming soon in 2021. Although set for 2020 originally, it got pushed back due to delays.AFSPC-52’s mission required a 14000-pound life capacity and geostationary orbit at a range between 115-21865 miles. SpaceX has a Viasat contract for launching 3 next-gen sats. It is currently developing Boeing satellites for expansion of coverage across the world to maximum countries.
Viasat has contracts with Arianespace, ULA, and SpaceX. Inmarsat also has contracts signed with SpaceX for a future launch. Ovzone will also be working with SpaceX for launching its satellite.
Several SpaceX missions have been announced and launched in months now. The Starlink system launches are currently ongoing, with more sats crammed in as launches increase. SpaceX has finished 8 missions this year.
