SpaceX Falcon Heavy updates (Falcon Heavier?)

[Dr Mordrid]

Blogger/Video blogger Everyday Astronaut explains how Falcon Heavy works, why it took so long and other tidbits.

His spacesuit is real - it's a Russian suit bought at auction. He has press credentials and access. He's just a bit....different

[Dr Mordrid]

Craig Vander Galien
@Craig_VG
Here's the TEL at 39a rolling into the HIF on the 22nd... see the hold downs for #falconHeavy ?? Credit https://www.instagram.com/jason_barkley/
11:09 AM - Dec 26, 2017 · Florida, USA

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Emiliano C. Diaz de Leon
@ECDiazdeLeon
We got a sneak peek at @SpaceX #FalconHeavy rocket while taking the bus tour. #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/18gnRCXobF
11:27 AM - Dec 26, 2017

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[Jammrock]

How does the FH compare to the venerable Saturn V?

[Dr Mordrid]

Saturn V had 7.9 million lbf of first stage thrust.

FH #1 is a mix of Block 3 (boosters) and Block 4 (center), so 5.1 million lbs of thrust.

Subsequent FH's will be all Block 5's with about 5.5+ million lbf. Enough to launch the mass of a fully fuelled 737-200 loaded, crewed, and PAX, to orbit, with change.

The BFR booster will be about 15 million lbf..

[Jammrock]

So no one has technically matched the lift power of the legendary Saturn V, but it's in the works. I wonder if the SLS or the BFR will be first to best the Saturn V.

[Dr Mordrid]

SLS is seriously late, severely over budget and is under may not fly until 2022/2023. Even when it does fly it'll be an early version with only 50-60% of the lift of Saturn V. The full version of SLS, roughly a Saturn V equivalent, won't fly until 2028 at the earliest. This is when the RS-25E engines and Advanced Boosters are to be delivered. Until then it's using up leftover Shuttle main engines and booster tech.

Price: $4-5 billion a launch.

Once BFR, Blue Origin's New Glenn & New Armstrong, Vulcan-ACES and other super-heavies near flight at 10-20% of the price, SLS will be a dead man walking. It may only fly 4 times, just long enough to use up the leftover Shuttle main engines.

[Jammrock]

Wow, the New Glenn is gigantic!

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/blue-origin-releases-details-of-its-monster-orbital-rocket/

[Dr Mordrid]

New Glenn is large because you need bigger tanks for methane fuel, which has a lower bulk density than FH's RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene.)

New Glenn: 45,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit

Falcon Heavy: 68,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit

Credit to @ExploreSpaceKSC

[Dr Mordrid]

Credit: NASASpaceFlight.com

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[Dr Mordrid]

Here-We-GO!!

Chris G - NSF @ChrisG_NSF
Oh, yeah. And after the #Zuma launch on the 4th, #SpaceX plans to static fire #FalconHeavy 2 days later on the 6th… leading to an opening of FH’s launch window no earlier than 15 January! Not too bad for the first two weeks of the year. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017...tic-fire-test/ …
9:45 AM - Jan 2, 2018

[Dr Mordrid]

3000x2000 hires beauty pics of Falcon Heavy. 2 are wallpaper quality, and note the vehicles for scale.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/

Neat drone footage of FH on the pad
at the link. Note the vehicles in the frame for scale.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/948376057882619904

SpaceX ✔ @SpaceX
With more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff—equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft at full power—Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. http://instagram.com/p/BdeEU2glMJT
9:10 PM - Jan 2, 2018

[Dr Mordrid]

Video at link.

Static Fire engines test next week.

Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
Falcon Heavy goes vertical
7:30 PM - Jan 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/949075475036487680

[Dr Mordrid]

ROLLOUT for the static test firing,

Susan @Luindriel
NASA bus tour. @SpaceX Heavy is inching its way out of the hangar.
10:50 AM - Jan 8, 2018

[Dr Mordrid]

Pic at link

@julia_bergeron
Falcon Heavy vertical at 39A today in prep. for Wednesday's static test fire attempt between 1300 and 1900. Seen from the @ExploreSpaceKSC bus tour. As big as the Heavy is, the tower still blocks the view of the rocket from the Saturn V center. #FalconHeavy @NASASpaceflight

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/950765636757704704

We have a static fire window!

@EmreKelly
#FalconHeavy status update: SpaceX scheduled to attempt test fire between 1300 and 1900 Wednesday. Looking forward to the brief rumble.

https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/950761870985658368

[Dr Mordrid]

A source says if there's a successful static fire launch is NET January 25th.

Stock up on the beer & popcorn.