Falcon Heavy

Falcon Heavy is a very powerful rocket made by the American company SpaceX. It can carry heavy cargo into space and even beyond. This rocket is special because parts of it can be used again after a flight, which helps save money and resources.

The Falcon Heavy rocket looks like three rockets stuck together. In the middle is a big core rocket, with two smaller Falcon 9 rockets attached to its sides. On top of the middle rocket is another stage that helps the cargo go further into space. It is one of the strongest rockets flying today.

The first time Falcon Heavy flew was on February 6, 2018. Instead of real cargo, it carried a Tesla Roadster belonging to Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. A mannequin named "Starman" sat in the driver’s seat. Later flights showed that all the parts of the rocket could come back to Earth safely.

Although Falcon Heavy could carry people into space far from Earth, SpaceX does not plan to use it for human flights right now. Instead, they are working on an even bigger rocket called Starship.

History

Ideas for a big rocket called Falcon Heavy, using three Falcon 1 parts, started in 2003. It was meant to be called Falcon 9 Heavy.

From left to right, Falcon 9 v1.0, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.1, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust), three versions of Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy and Falcon Heavy Block 5

SpaceX told the public about Falcon Heavy in April 2011 in Washington, D.C. The first test flight was planned for 2013.

Many problems caused delays, and the first flight happened in 2018. One problem was that joining three Falcon 9 parts was more difficult than expected.

The first flight of Falcon Heavy took off on February 6, 2018, at 20:45 UTC. It carried a special dummy payload: Elon Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster, with a dummy named “Starman” sitting in the driver’s seat.

Design

Falcon Heavy on NASA launch pad LC-39A

Falcon Heavy is a big rocket made from three Falcon 9 rockets put together. This makes it very strong and able to carry heavy things into space. It can carry more weight than many other rockets today.

The rocket has three sets of engines that help it take off. After it leaves the ground, the side rockets separate and land safely. The middle part can also land again if needed. This design helps make future trips to places like the Moon or Mars possible.

Rocket specifications

The Falcon Heavy is a large rocket made by SpaceX. It is 70 meters tall and can carry heavy loads into space. When all parts are used just once, it can lift about 63 tons into a low orbit around Earth. If only some parts are reused, it can carry about 26 tons to a special path called a geostationary transfer orbit. The rocket has special legs that help it land safely after its job is done.

Falcon Heavy specifications and characteristics
Characteristic	First stage core unit (1 × center, 2 × booster)	Second stage	Payload fairing
Height	42.6 m (140 ft)	12.6 m (41 ft)	13.2 m (43 ft)
Diameter	3.7 m (12 ft)	3.7 m (12 ft)	5.2 m (17 ft)
Dry mass	22.2 t (49,000 lb)	4 t (8,800 lb)	1.7 t (3,700 lb)
Fueled mass	433.1 t (955,000 lb)	111.5 t (246,000 lb)	—N/a
Structure type	LOX tank: monocoque Fuel tank: skin and stringer	LOX tank: monocoque Fuel tank: skin and stringer	Monocoque halves
Structure material	Aluminum–lithium skin; aluminum domes	Aluminum–lithium skin; aluminum domes	Carbon fiber
Engines	9 × Merlin 1D	1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum	—N/a
Engine type	Liquid, gas generator	Liquid, gas generator
Propellant	Subcooled liquid oxygen, kerosene (RP-1)	Liquid oxygen, kerosene (RP-1)
Liquid oxygen tank capacity	287.4 t (634,000 lb)	75.2 t (166,000 lb)
Kerosene tank capacity	123.5 t (272,000 lb)	32.3 t (71,000 lb)
Engine nozzle	Gimbaled, 16:1 expansion	Gimbaled, 165:1 expansion
Engine designer/manufacturer	SpaceX	SpaceX
Thrust, stage total	22.82 MN (5,130,000 lbf), sea level	934 kN (210,000 lbf), vacuum
Propellant feed system	Turbopump	Turbopump
Throttle capability	Yes: 419–816 kN (94,000–183,000 lbf), sea level	Yes: 360–930 kN (82,000–209,000 lbf), vacuum
Restart capability	Yes, in 3 engines for boostback, reentry, and landing	Yes, dual redundant TEA-TEB pyrophoric igniters
Tank pressurization	Heated helium	Heated helium
Ascent attitude control: pitch, yaw	Gimbaled engines	Gimbaled engine and nitrogen gas thrusters
Ascent attitude control: roll	Gimbaled engines	Nitrogen gas thrusters
Coast/descent attitude control	Nitrogen gas thrusters and grid fins	Nitrogen gas thrusters	Nitrogen gas thrusters
Shutdown process	Commanded	Commanded	—N/a
Stage separation system	Pneumatic	—N/a	Pneumatic

Capabilities

The Falcon Heavy rocket can carry very heavy loads into space. It can lift between 20 and 50 tons into a low orbit around Earth if some parts are reused. If no parts are reused, it can lift up to 64 tons.

Twenty-seven Merlin engines firing during launch of Arabsat-6A in 2019

Early plans for the Falcon Heavy wanted it to lift about 25 tons, but the plans grew over time. By 2013, it was expected to lift more than 21 tons into certain orbits. In 2017, the amount it could lift was increased to almost 64 tons when no parts are reused.

Long exposure of a night launch, June 25, 2019

Reusability

Main article: SpaceX reusable launch system development program

Falcon Heavy reusable side boosters land in unison at Cape Canaveral Landing Zones 1 and 2 following a test flight on February 6, 2018

SpaceX has worked on making rockets reusable, including parts of the Falcon Heavy. They have successfully landed many parts of their rockets after use. For the Falcon Heavy, the two outer parts separate earlier in the flight. For the first Falcon Heavy flight, SpaceX thought about bringing back another part of the rocket but decided not to.

Using reusable parts reduces how much the Falcon Heavy can carry, but it also makes the flight cheaper. When bringing back all three main parts, it can carry 8 tons to a certain orbit around Earth. If only the two outer parts are brought back, it can carry about 16 tons.

Propellant crossfeed

The Falcon Heavy was planned to share fuel between its parts during flight. This would let the main part of the rocket use fuel from the side parts until they separate. However, the plan changed, and the main part now reduces its power right after takeoff to save fuel, then increases power after the side parts separate.

Maximum theoretical payload capacity
Destination	Falcon Heavy			Falcon 9
Destination	August 2013 to April 2016	May 2016 to March 2017	Since April 2017	Falcon 9
LEO (28.5°) expendable	53 t	54.4 t	63.8 t	22.8 t
GTO (27.0°) expendable	21.2 t	22.2 t	26.7 t	8.3 t
GTO (27.0°) reusable	6.4 t	6.4 t	8 t	5.5 t
Mars	13.2 t	13.6 t	16.8 t	4 t
Pluto	–	2.9 t	3.5 t	–

Launch prices

Elon Musk wanted to make space travel cheaper. In 2004, he hoped to lower costs to about $500 for each pound of cargo. By 2011, SpaceX thought they could reach prices as low as $2,200 for each kilogram if they launched four times a year.

Prices for Falcon Heavy launches changed over time. In 2011, they were between $80 million and $125 million. By 2022, a reusable Falcon Heavy launch cost about $97 million. In 2022, NASA paid around $255 million to launch a telescope on a Falcon Heavy.

Other rockets, like the Delta IV Heavy, cost more per kilogram to launch. New rockets might compete with Falcon Heavy in the future.

Launches and payloads

Some heavy satellites were sent into space before the Falcon Heavy rocket was ready. The first paying customer for Falcon Heavy was Arabsat-6A, which flew on April 11, 2019, a little after the rocket's first test flight. SpaceX wanted to launch 10 rockets each year starting in 2021, but there were no launches in 2020, 2021, or 2025.

Future launches

First commercial contracts

In 2012, SpaceX signed its first contract to use Falcon Heavy for a satellite owned by Intelsat. Later, they used a smaller rocket instead because it could carry the satellite well enough. In 2014, a company called Inmarsat planned three launches on Falcon Heavy but changed plans due to delays.

Department of Defense contracts

In 2012, SpaceX made a deal with the United States Department of Defense to launch important military satellites. One of these was the Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission. This mission carried many small satellites from the U.S. military, NASA, and other research groups.

NASA contracts

Solar System transport missions

In 2011, NASA thought about using Falcon Heavy to send a spacecraft called Red Dragon to Mars. This idea was later dropped in favor of a bigger rocket called Starship.

Psyche, Europa Clipper, and Dragonfly

NASA chose Falcon Heavy to launch its Psyche mission to a metal asteroid in space, which flew in October 2023. Falcon Heavy will also launch Europa Clipper to Jupiter's moon Europa in October 2024 and the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan in July 2028.

Flight No.	Launch date (UTC)	Launch site	Payload	Payload mass	Orbit	Customer	Price	Outcome
1	February 6, 2018 20:45	Kennedy, LC-39A	Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster	~1,250 kg (2,760 lb)	Heliocentric	SpaceX	Internal	Success
1	First demonstration flight launched a Tesla Roadster to a trans-Mars injection heliocentric orbit. Both side boosters returned to the launch site and made simultaneous landings; the center core failed to fully relight on landing and crashed into the water adjacent to the droneship, resulting in damage to the vessel's thrusters.
2	April 11, 2019 22:35	Kennedy, LC-39A	Arabsat-6A	6,465 kg (14,253 lb)	GTO	Arabsat	Undisclosed	Success
2	Heavy communications satellite purchased by the Arab League. All three boosters landed successfully but the center core subsequently fell over and was lost during transport due to heavy seas. The two side-boosters were reused on the STP-2 launch.
3	June 25, 2019 06:30	Kennedy, LC-39A	USAF STP-2	3,700 kg (8,200 lb)	LEO / MEO	United States Department of Defense	US$160.9 million	Success
3	The mission supported the U.S. Air Force National Security Space Launch (formerly EELV) certification process for the Falcon Heavy. The original contract price was US$165 million, which was later reduced due to the Air Force agreeing to the use of reused side boosters. Secondary payloads include orbiters: LightSail 2, GPIM, OTB (hosting the Deep Space Atomic Clock,) six COSMIC-2 (FORMOSAT-7), Oculus-ASR, Prox-1, and ISAT. Successfully reused the boosters from the second Falcon Heavy flight. Center core failed to land on the droneship and was lost.
4	November 1, 2022 13:41	Kennedy, LC-39A	USSF-44	~3,750 kg (8,270 lb)	GEO	U.S. Space Force, Millennium Space Systems and Lockheed Martin Space	~US$130 million	Success
4	First classified flight of Falcon Heavy. The contract was awarded to SpaceX for a price of under 30% of that of a typical Delta IV Heavy launch (US$440 million). Payload included two separate satellites and at least three additional rideshare payloads (including TETRA-1) and weighed roughly 3.7 t (8,200 lb) at launch. They were launched in a direct geosynchronous orbit, necessitating for the first time a planned partially expendable launch, that is, to deliberately expend the center core which was configured without grid fins and landing gear needed for a landing, while the two side-boosters landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was originally scheduled for Q1 2022, but it was delayed due to payload issues to November 1, 2022. This mission was the third Falcon‑family launch to use a second stage equipped with the long mission‑extension kit, required for a long coast phase between second‑stage ignitions. As part of the kit, the stage includes a gray band painted on the metal skin over the RP‑1 tank, which absorbs sunlight and helps prevent the propellant from freezing during the coast.
5	January 15, 2023 22:56	Kennedy, LC-39A	USSF-67	~3,750 kg (8,270 lb)	GEO	U.S. Space Force	US$317 million (includes new infrastructure)	Success
5	Second classified flight of Falcon Heavy, using a new center core in an expendable configuration (no grid fins or landing gear), while the two boosters were reused side-boosters that landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission was the fourth Falcon‑family launch to use a second stage equipped with the long mission‑extension kit, required for a long coast phase between second‑stage ignitions. As part of the kit, the stage includes a gray band painted on the metal skin over the RP‑1 tank, which absorbs sunlight and helps prevent the propellant from freezing during the coast.
6	May 1, 2023 00:26	Kennedy, LC-39A	ViaSat-3 Americas	6,400 kg (14,100 lb)	GEO	ViaSat	Undisclosed	Success
			Aurora 4A (Arcturus)	300 kg (660 lb)		Astranis / Pacific Dataport
			GS-1	22 kg (49 lb)		Gravity Space
	Falcon Heavy was originally slated to launch the Viasat-2 satellite, but due to delays an Ariane 5 launch vehicle was used. Viasat maintained the launch option and delivered its next Ka-band satellite aboard the Falcon Heavy – this one intended to provide service to the Americas region. Astranis' microGEO satellite Arcturus was manifested in late September 2021. Following a series of MVac engine burns and long periods of coasting, the upper stage of Falcon Heavy deployed the satellite into a near-geosynchronous orbit at approximately T+4:32:27. The upper stage went on to successfully deploy the additional payloads, G-Space 1 and Arcturus. This mission was the sixth Falcon‑family launch to use a second stage equipped with the long mission‑extension kit, required for a long coast phase between second‑stage ignitions. As part of the kit, the stage includes a gray band painted on the metal skin over the RP‑1 tank, which absorbs sunlight and helps prevent the propellant from freezing during the coast. This was the first fully expendable mission for Falcon Heavy since its introduction, the center core and side boosters were configured without landing legs or grid fins.
7	July 29, 2023 03:04	Kennedy, LC-39A	Jupiter-3 (EchoStar-24)	~9,200 kg (20,300 lb)	GTO	EchoStar	Undisclosed	Success
7	Heaviest commercial geostationary satellite weighing 9,200 kg (20,300 lb) at launch. The second stage had a gray band for the same reason as on the USSF-44 flight, but this time it was configured for medium coast phase. Core expended, two boosters recovered to land. Payload fairing recovery attempted.
8	October 13, 2023 14:19	Kennedy, LC-39A	Psyche	~2,608 kg (5,750 lb)	Heliocentric	NASA	US$117 million	Success
8	Falcon Heavy launched the 2.6 t (5,700 lb) Psyche orbiter mission into a heliocentric orbit. From there, the Psyche spacecraft will visit the Psyche asteroid in the main asteroid belt. Core expended, two boosters recovered to land. No gray band on second stage as the flight plan did not include long coast phases.
9	December 29, 2023 01:07	Kennedy, LC-39A	USSF-52 (Boeing X-37B OTV-7)	~6,350 kg (14,000 lb) + OTV payload	HEO	Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office/U.S. Space Force	US$149 million	Success
9	Third classified flight of Falcon Heavy, awarded in June 2018. This mission was the fourth flight of the second X-37B vehicle and the seventh overall flight in the X-37B program, as well as the first X-37B flight to a highly elliptical high Earth orbit. It was intended to include NASA's Seeds-2 experiment investigating the effects of space-based radiation on plant seeds during a long-duration spaceflight. The center core expended and the two boosters were recovered to land.
10	June 25, 2024 21:26	Kennedy, LC-39A	GOES-19	5,000 kg (11,000 lb)	GTO	NOAA	US$152.5 million	Success
10	In September 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a launch services contract for the geostationary GOES-19 weather satellite (known as GOES-U during launch). All three Falcon 9 boosters were new. Both side boosters landed at Landing Zones 1 and 2 while the center core was expended. This mission was the fourth Falcon‑family launch to use a second stage with the medium mission‑extension kit for a longer coast between ignitions. Modifications include a gray band painted on the metal skin over the RP‑1 tank that absorbs sunlight to prevent propellant freezing.
11	October 14, 2024 16:06	Kennedy, LC-39A	Europa Clipper	6,065 kg (13,371 lb)	Heliocentric	NASA	US$178 million	Success
11	Europa Clipper is to conduct a detailed survey of Europa and use a sophisticated suite of science instruments to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life. Key mission objectives are to produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon's icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa's ocean. The mission makes flybys of Mars and Earth before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030. The Falcon Heavy for this mission was fully expendable as both the side boosters and core were expended (and configured without landing legs and grid fins). This was the second fully expendable Falcon Heavy mission after Viasat-3 F1 in May 2023.
12	April 29, 2026 14:13	Kennedy, LC-39A	ViaSat-3 F3	6,400 kg (14,100 lb)	GTO	ViaSat	Undisclosed	Success
12	Ka-band satellite for the APAC region. The mission switched to Falcon Heavy due to delays with Ariane 6. The center core was expended, while both side boosters were recovered. Boosters B1072 and B1075 flew as the side cores. B1075 had previously flown 21 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg before being converted into a side booster for this launch. It landed at LZ-40, becoming the first Falcon Heavy side booster to touch down at the pad. This mission was the eighth Falcon‑family launch to use a second stage equipped with the medium mission‑extension kit, required for a longer coast phase between second‑stage ignitions. As part of the kit, the stage includes a gray band painted on the metal skin over the RP‑1 tank, which absorbs sunlight and helps prevent the propellant from freezing during the coast.

Date	Payload	Customer	Price
September 2026	Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope	NASA (Launch Services Program)	US$255 million
Infrared space telescope to be stationed at Sun-Earth L2.
H2 2026	Griffin Mission One	Astrobotic / NASA
Astrobotic's Griffin Mission One is a lunar lander contracted by NASA as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The lander, the company's second after Peregrine Mission One, is expected to land in a region of interest in the Moon's south polar region with scientific payloads attached.
2027	USSF-155	USSF
Classified mission for the United States Space Force.
2027	Griffin Mission Two	Astrobotic
Third Astrobotic lunar lander mission.
2027	USSF-206 (WGS-12)	USSF
Wideband Global SATCOM satellite.
2027	NROL-86	USSF
Classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
2027	NROL-97	NRO
Classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. First NRO launch from a Falcon Heavy.
2027	USSF-186	USSF
Classified mission for the United States Space Force.
2027	USSF-63	USSF
Classified mission for the United States Space Force.
2027	USSF-174	USSF
Classified mission for the United States Space Force.
2027	USSF-75	USSF
Classified mission for the United States Space Force.
July 5, 2028	Dragonfly	NASA	US$256.6 million
Rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan. Awarded on November 25, 2024. The launch will cost NASA $256.6 million. First Falcon mission to carry an RTG.
October 2028	Rosalind Franklin	ESA/NASA
European Mars rover. The first Falcon mission targeting the surface of Mars (as of April 2026).
TBA	TBA	Intelsat
This was the first commercial agreement of a Falcon Heavy, and was signed in May 2012. In 2018, the contract option was still maintained but no definitive payload had been chosen.