Karmactive Staff
Falcon Heavy rocket by SpaceX will be launched for the second time in 2023. The fully expended rocket will blast off from the Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Unlike the last Falcon Heavy launch, none of the three boosters will be recovered. The launch is scheduled for 18 April with a payload of 6,700 kg (15,000 lb).
The launch will carry two payloads: ViaSat-3 Americas and Arcturus. ViaSat-3 Americas is a massive satellite built by Boeing that will serve broadband internet to North and South America.
ViaSat-3 Americas will be the first of three satellites in the ViaSat-3 constellation.
Arcturus, the smaller satellite, was built by Astranis Space Technologies and has the ability to provide data throughput up to 7.5 Gbps for the Alaska and surrounding region.
Astranis chose to launch on a Falcon Heavy due to the limited onboard propulsion options.
Falcon Heavy is SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle. The first stage contains 27 Merlin 1D+ sea level engines, producing 845 kN of thrust at sea level.
The center core is a modified booster equipped with a booster separation system and modified to handle the increased loads of three boosters. The second stage is the same as a Falcon 9 version, capable of doing several burns, allowing Falcon Heavy to put payloads in several different orbits.
On this mission, the second stage is equipped with the MEK (mission extension kit) that allows it to support missions with many burns and/or long coasts between burns.
