SpaceX Is Preparing World’s 2 Biggest Rockets Falcon Heavy, Starship for Their Next Flights

Two massive spaceships from SpaceX will be launching very soon. Elon Musk's space company is already working to make the mission smooth sailing.

Falcon Heavy Set to Launch Wednesday

SpaceX officially targets Wednesday (July 26) for the Falcon Heavy's next liftoff. The company announced via X Monday that its next launch would occur from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

"Teams completed the launch readiness review, and we are targeting Wednesday, July 26, for Falcon Heavy's launch of the @HughesConnects JUPITER 3/@EchoStar XXIV satellite from Launch Complex 39A in Florida," SpaceX wrote.

The launch will be Falcon Heavy's seventh flight since it was demonstrated in 2018. Heavy will blast off carrying Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 broadband communications satellite for Hughes Network Systems late Wednesday from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The large telecom bird can link to marine connections, mobile network backhaul, and in-flight wifi networks, Forbes reported.

The second stage of Falcon Heavy, which consists of three Falcon 9 launchers linked together, will lift the satellite into its operational orbit. The tri-booster configuration works well for bigger, heavier payloads. Still, the real show begins approximately 10 minutes after liftoff when the two side boosters return to close-by landing areas on the ground for virtually simultaneous autonomous touchdowns.

An upgraded Falcon 9 could perform more missions; that's why Falcon Heavy has been utilized infrequently after the launch of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX CEO Musk announced that his masterpiece rocket, Starship, would be the company's primary focus.

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Starship's Future

NASA has agreed to use SpaceX's Starship for its forthcoming Artemis lunar landings. Musk has stated that the spacecraft is essential to completing and maintaining his company's Starlink broadband network. The ultimate version of Starship is designed to be the biggest rocket ever built by humanity, capable of carrying substantial payloads and humans to orbit the moon, Mars, and beyond. Unfortunately, its development has been slower than Musk expected. The spacecraft was unveiled years ago to carry humans to Mars. However, it hasn't launched yet. In April, SpaceX made its first attempt to establish Starship, but it didn't succeed. The failed launch caused a huge mess in Texas. Houses nearby shook, and at least one window broke. The city was engulfed in an ash-like material, and the rocket's force left a huge crate in the launchpad's foundation. SpaceX is getting ready to make another try. According to Forbes, another Super Heavy booster was relocated to the launch pad last week.

As early as next month, Booster 9 will undergo testing before being mated with Starship for another attempt to reach space. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates commercial spaceflight, is yet to give Starship the all-clear to take off.

According to Musk and the FAA, timelines for Starship launches have taken far longer than expected. Its likelihood of taking off shortly is extremely improbable, especially since a consortium of environmental organizations has sued the FAA because it failed to do its full diligence in assessing any potential environmental effects of the launch of Starship.

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