SpaceX is preparing to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in more than 18 months, kicking off what could be a busy time for the vehicle.
The mission will loft the ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite into geostationary orbit. Liftoff is scheduled during an 85-minute window opening at 1421 UTC today, with a backup opportunity on April 28 at 1417 UTC.
The last Falcon Heavy mission launched the Europa Clipper in October 2024, and the entire Falcon Heavy system was expended. This time, SpaceX plans to recover both side boosters, landing them simultaneously at Landing Zones 2 and 40 at Cape Canaveral.
Both side boosters are veterans: one has flown on 18 Starlink missions, the other on the GOES-U Falcon Heavy mission in June 2024.
Today’s assignment marks the start of a high-activity period for SpaceX’s heavy lifter. If all goes to plan, a Falcon Heavy will send Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 uncrewed lander to the Moon in July, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could launch as soon as September.
The ViaSat-3 F3 satellite – part of the ViaSat-3 broadband constellation – will add more than 1 Tbps of capacity to the company’s network over the Asia-Pacific region. It weighs in at six metric tons, so requires a heavy lifter.
ViaSat originally planned to use an Ariane rocket for this task and agreed to modify its contract to use the Ariane 64 variant of the Ariane 6 launcher in 2019. However, delays meant that ViaSat eventually looked elsewhere, and here we are.
The Falcon Heavy looks like three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together – though as SpaceX boss Elon Musk acknowledged, it’s a bit more complicated than that. SpaceX’s Starship can haul larger payloads, but remains in development; the third iteration of the rocket is about to begin testing, with orbital flight still uncertain.
Until Starship matures, Falcon Heavy remains SpaceX’s heaviest operational workhorse and its most photogenic, with the twin booster landings a spectacle in their own right. ®