Falcon Heavy
Encyclopedia
Falcon Heavy, previously known as the Falcon 9 Heavy, is a spaceflight
launch system
that uses rocket engine
s currently being designed and manufactured by SpaceX
. Both stages of the two-stage-to-orbit
vehicles use liquid oxygen
(LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene
(RP-1) propellants. Multiple variants are planned with payloads of 53000 kilograms (116,845 lb) to low Earth orbit
, 19000 kilograms (41,887.8 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit
, 16000 kilograms (35,274 lb) to translunar trajectory, and 14000 kilograms (30,864.7 lb) towards Mars
, which will place the Falcon Heavy design in the super heavy lift range of launch systems. It is just less than half as powerful as the Saturn V
used in the Apollo program.
with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters, which is conceptually similar to EELV
Delta IV Heavy launcher and proposals for the Atlas V HLV and Russian Angara. Falcon Heavy will be more capable than any other operational rocket, with a payload to low earth orbit of 117,000 pounds (53,000 kilograms). The rocket was designed to meet all known requirements of human rating. The structural safety margins are 40% above flight loads, higher than 25% margins of other rockets.
SpaceX anticipates a Falcon Heavy demonstration rocket will arrive at Vandenberg AFB, California
, in 2012,
with a launch planned for 2013. The first launch from the Cape Canaveral launch complex is planned for 2013 or 2014. Cost of reaching low Earth orbit
can be as low as 1000 USD/pound, if an annual rate of four launches can be sustained. SpaceX plans to launch 10 Falcon Heavy and 10 Falcon 9 annually.
and a vacuum thrust of 155000 lbf (689.5 kN), and is throttleable from 100% to 70%.
When launching payloads heavier than 100,000 pounds the first stage will also use propellant crossfeed and partial staging, making the rocket effectively a three stage design. Using a design with a propellant crossfeed mechanism has never before been attempted. Propellant crossfeed, suitable only for multi core vehicles, is leading to a greater fuel load in the core stage at booster separation.
Engines from all three cores light up at launch. But until fuel runs out in the booster cores, the main core uses little or none of its own propellant. There are two separation events: booster separation and main core separation. This is akin to a three stage rocket and thus enables greater performance. Compared to what is thought of as a two and a half stage rocket, like the Delta IV Heavy, the central core can operate at full thrust and still be left with a full fuel load after booster separation, as opposed to a partial load.
With three cores each having 9 engines the total number of engines on the first stage is 27, just three engines shy of thirty engines of the Soviet N1 rocket, the most engines ever fired simultaneously.
of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 345 seconds. For added reliability of restart, the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters (TEA-TEB).
SpaceX has expressed hopes that both stages will eventually be reusable
.
The interstage, which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9, is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure. Stage separation occurs via reusable separation collet
s and a pneumatic pusher system. The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from aluminum lithium alloy
. SpaceX uses an all-friction stir welded
tank, the highest strength and most reliable welding technique available. The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling, material and manufacturing techniques. This saves money during vehicle production.
testified, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. [...] Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound [of payload delivered to orbit] or less is very achievable.".This $500 per pound goal is, approximately half the cost that is currently achievable by the next closest competitor: the Zenit launch vehicle.
At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. on 5 April 2011, Elon Musk
stated,
“Falcon Heavy will carry more payload to orbit or escape velocity than any vehicle in history, apart from the Saturn V
moon rocket, which was decommissioned after the Apollo program. This opens a new world of capability for both government and commercial space missions.”
He also stated that, "Falcon Heavy will arrive at our Vandenberg, California, launch complex by the end of next year, with liftoff to follow soon thereafter. First launch from our Cape Canaveral launch complex is planned for late 2013 or 2014.”
to enter the Martian atmosphere. The concept would be proposed in 2012/2013 as a NASA Discovery mission
for launch in 2018 and arrival at Mars several months later. The science objectives of the mission would be to look for evidence of life — detecting "molecules that are proof of life, like DNA
or perchlorate reductase
... proof of life through biomolecules. ... Red Dragon would drill 3.3 feet (1 m) or so underground, in an effort to sample reservoirs of water ice known to lurk under the red dirt." The mission cost is projected to be less than , not including the launch cost.
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
launch system
Launch vehicle
In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....
that uses rocket engine
Rocket engine
A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
s currently being designed and manufactured by SpaceX
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
. Both stages of the two-stage-to-orbit
Two-stage-to-orbit
A two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle is a spacecraft in which two distinct stages provide propulsion consecutively in order to achieve orbital velocity...
vehicles use liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
(LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
(RP-1) propellants. Multiple variants are planned with payloads of 53000 kilograms (116,845 lb) to low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
, 19000 kilograms (41,887.8 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit
Geostationary transfer orbit
A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit....
, 16000 kilograms (35,274 lb) to translunar trajectory, and 14000 kilograms (30,864.7 lb) towards Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, which will place the Falcon Heavy design in the super heavy lift range of launch systems. It is just less than half as powerful as the Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
used in the Apollo program.
Design
The Falcon Heavy configuration consists of a standard Falcon 9Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...
with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters, which is conceptually similar to EELV
EELV
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system program of the United States Air Force , intended to assure access to space for Department of Defense and other United States government payloads...
Delta IV Heavy launcher and proposals for the Atlas V HLV and Russian Angara. Falcon Heavy will be more capable than any other operational rocket, with a payload to low earth orbit of 117,000 pounds (53,000 kilograms). The rocket was designed to meet all known requirements of human rating. The structural safety margins are 40% above flight loads, higher than 25% margins of other rockets.
SpaceX anticipates a Falcon Heavy demonstration rocket will arrive at Vandenberg AFB, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 2012,
with a launch planned for 2013. The first launch from the Cape Canaveral launch complex is planned for 2013 or 2014. Cost of reaching low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
can be as low as 1000 USD/pound, if an annual rate of four launches can be sustained. SpaceX plans to launch 10 Falcon Heavy and 10 Falcon 9 annually.
First Stage
The first stage is powered by three Falcon 9 derived cores, each equipped with 9 Merlin 1D engines. The Merlin 1D is an updated version of the previous Merlin engine that provides a sea level thrust of 140000 lbf (622.8 kN),and a vacuum thrust of 155000 lbf (689.5 kN), and is throttleable from 100% to 70%.
When launching payloads heavier than 100,000 pounds the first stage will also use propellant crossfeed and partial staging, making the rocket effectively a three stage design. Using a design with a propellant crossfeed mechanism has never before been attempted. Propellant crossfeed, suitable only for multi core vehicles, is leading to a greater fuel load in the core stage at booster separation.
Engines from all three cores light up at launch. But until fuel runs out in the booster cores, the main core uses little or none of its own propellant. There are two separation events: booster separation and main core separation. This is akin to a three stage rocket and thus enables greater performance. Compared to what is thought of as a two and a half stage rocket, like the Delta IV Heavy, the central core can operate at full thrust and still be left with a full fuel load after booster separation, as opposed to a partial load.
With three cores each having 9 engines the total number of engines on the first stage is 27, just three engines shy of thirty engines of the Soviet N1 rocket, the most engines ever fired simultaneously.
Second stage
The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin engine modified for vacuum operation, with an expansion ratioExpansion ratio
The expansion ratio of a liquefied and cryogenic substance is the volume of a given amount of that substance in liquid form compared to the volume of the same amount of substance in gaseous form, at a given temperature and pressure....
of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 345 seconds. For added reliability of restart, the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters (TEA-TEB).
SpaceX has expressed hopes that both stages will eventually be reusable
Reusable launch system
A reusable launch system is a launch system which is capable of launching a launch vehicle into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded.No true orbital reusable launch system is currently in use. The...
.
The interstage, which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9, is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure. Stage separation occurs via reusable separation collet
Collet
A collet is a holding device—specifically, a subtype of chuck—that forms a collar around the object to be held and exerts a strong clamping force on the object when it is tightened, usually via a tapered outer collar. It may be used to hold a workpiece or a tool.A collet is a sleeve with a ...
s and a pneumatic pusher system. The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from aluminum lithium alloy
Al-Li
Al-Li alloys are a series of alloys of aluminium and lithium, often also including copper and zirconium. Since lithium is the least dense elemental metal these alloys are significantly less dense than aluminium...
. SpaceX uses an all-friction stir welded
Friction stir welding
Friction-stir welding is a solid-state joining process and is used for applications where the original metal characteristics must remain unchanged as far as possible...
tank, the highest strength and most reliable welding technique available. The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling, material and manufacturing techniques. This saves money during vehicle production.
Launcher versions
| Version | Falcon Heavy |
|---|---|
| Stage 0 | 2 boosters with 9 × Merlin 1D engines each |
| Stage 1 | 9 × Merlin 1D |
| Stage 2 | 1 × Merlin 1D |
| Height (max; m) |
69.2 |
| Diameter (m) |
5.2 |
| Initial thrust (kN) |
17,000 |
| Takeoff weight (tonne Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... s) |
1400 |
| Fairing diameter (outer; m) |
5.2 |
| Payload (LEO Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km... ; kg) |
53,000 |
| Payload (GTO Geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit.... ; kg) |
19,000 |
| Price (Mil. USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... ) |
80-125 |
| minimal Price/kg (Price/lb) (LEO Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km... ; USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... ) |
2200 (1000) |
| minimal Price/kg (GTO Geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit.... ; USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... ) |
|
| Success ratio (successful/total) |
History
At an appearance in May 2004 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Elon MuskElon Musk
Elon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
testified, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. [...] Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound [of payload delivered to orbit] or less is very achievable.".This $500 per pound goal is, approximately half the cost that is currently achievable by the next closest competitor: the Zenit launch vehicle.
At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. on 5 April 2011, Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
stated,
“Falcon Heavy will carry more payload to orbit or escape velocity than any vehicle in history, apart from the Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
moon rocket, which was decommissioned after the Apollo program. This opens a new world of capability for both government and commercial space missions.”
He also stated that, "Falcon Heavy will arrive at our Vandenberg, California, launch complex by the end of next year, with liftoff to follow soon thereafter. First launch from our Cape Canaveral launch complex is planned for late 2013 or 2014.”
'Red Dragon' Mars Mission
, NASA Ames Research Center is developing a concept for a low-cost Mars mission that would utilize Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle and trans-Martian injection vehicle, and the Dragon capsuleDragon (spacecraft)
The Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, a private space transportation company based in Hawthorne, California. During its unmanned maiden flight in December 2010, it became the first commercially-built and -operated spacecraft to ever be successfully recovered from orbit.The Dragon...
to enter the Martian atmosphere. The concept would be proposed in 2012/2013 as a NASA Discovery mission
Discovery Program
NASA's Discovery Program is a series of lower-cost, highly-focused American scientific space missions that are exploring the Solar System. It was founded in 1992 to implement then-NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin's vision of "faster, better, cheaper" planetary missions...
for launch in 2018 and arrival at Mars several months later. The science objectives of the mission would be to look for evidence of life — detecting "molecules that are proof of life, like DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
or perchlorate reductase
Perchlorate
Perchlorates are the salts derived from perchloric acid . They occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They have been used as a medicine for more than 50 years to treat thyroid gland disorders. They are used extensively within the pyrotechnics industry, and ammonium perchlorate is also a...
... proof of life through biomolecules. ... Red Dragon would drill 3.3 feet (1 m) or so underground, in an effort to sample reservoirs of water ice known to lurk under the red dirt." The mission cost is projected to be less than , not including the launch cost.
Launches and scheduled launches
| Flight No | Date & Time (GMT) | Payload | Customer | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2013 | Falcon Heavy Demo Flight 1 | SpaceX SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California... |
Scheduled | Hardware is expected to arrive at the Vandenberg AFB in late 2012 |
| Late 2013 or 2014 | Not yet announced | Not yet announced | Scheduled | First FH flight from Cape Canaveral |