SpaceX’ mega-Mars rocket is set to launch “in a week or so” after a successful burn test of its engines.
The supersized Falcon Heavy, the engine earmarked by the firm as the one capable of blasting astronauts to the Red Planet, completed its very first static-fire launch pad test on Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. All three boosters were fired, making 27 engines in all, and the boom of ignition could reportedly be heard clearly at the press site three miles away.
“Falcon Heavy hold-down firing this morning was good. Generated quite a thunderhead of steam. Launching in a week or so,” CEO Elon Musk understated on Twitter following the burn test.
SpaceX was hoping to do the engine burn test last month, but the federal government shutdown combined with a number of delays for undisclosed reasons postponed the test.
The success of the test is encouraging, but by no means ensures that the first flight of the Falcon Heavy will go smoothly. Many experimental rockets fail before they succeed and Musk has said the rocket could as easily explode on the pad as make it to Mars. That’s why the cargo for the first flight has been volunteered by the SpaceX founder himself – his red Tesla Roadster.
The Falcon Heavy is basically three modified Falcon 9 engines strapped together to make “the world’s most powerful rocket”. As well as being a heavy lifter, capable of boosting over 54 metric tons into orbit, the Falcon Heavy will be revolutionary in that it is built to be reusable.
Just like the rocket firm’s satellite and cargo workhorse, the Falcon 9, the Heavy is designed to come back to Earth and land safely, significantly reducing the cost per flight of space travel. While there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome before humans are able to explore Mars in person, a rocket capable of landing on the planet and being prepped there for a return flight is one huge challenge met.
For the moment though, SpaceX is concentrating on the first test flight and, if all goes well there, its proposal to send two passengers to the Moon by the end of the year in a Dragon space capsule boosted by a Falcon Heavy.
