Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy — a towering, three-pronged vehicle that is the most powerful operational rocket in the world — returned to the skies on Tuesday for the first time since mid-2019. The rocket launched at 9:41 a.m. ET from
’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hauling satellites to space for the US military in a secretive mission dubbed USSF-44. The Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018 to much fanfare as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk elected to launch his personal Tesla Roadster as a test payload on the launch. The car is still in space, taking an oblong path around the sun that swings out as far as Mars’ orbital path. Since that first test mission, SpaceX has launched only two other Falcon Heavy missions, both in 2019.
’s Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket, which is currently slated to attempt its inaugural launch later in November to send the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon, is sitting in the Kennedy Space Center’s towering Vehicle Assembly Building, which lies just a few miles from the launch pad where the Falcon Heavy will take flight. While the Falcon Heavy gives off about five million pounds of thrust, SLS is expected to put off as much as 8.
’s plans to return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in half a century. SpaceX also has its own, ambitious vision for the Starship: ferrying humans and cargo to Mars in the hopes of one day establishing a permanent human settlement there. All about this mission There is not much publicly available information about the USSF-44 mission.
Nice to see spacexs falcon in the space but not for a military mission. 😐
Musk should ignore the military.
Russia's time is almost up. Surrender or
Secret 🤣🤣
Secret you say?
“Secret mission”? Why? I’ m so confused. I know, it sounds like another conspiracy theory. But we were living in different dystopias for almost 3 years. Pandemic, inflation, poverty, wars, climate change… 😫😱 What’ s next? Asteroids or alien invasion? 🤪🙊🙈🤣👽💫🛸👻☠️💩👾
With each Falcon Heavy launch , the rocket puts on a dramatic showing back on Earth .
you mean chinas secret military mission.
The rocket will be hauling satellites to space for the US military in a secretive mission dubbed USSF- 44.
Secret...🤔
The rocket launched at 9.41 am .
CNN - the Classified News Network. C’mon.
Always a treat seeing those boosters land side-by-side.
Amazing.
Guess it’s not a secret anymore