‘Space jellyfish’, sonic booms herald SpaceX Falcon Heavy’s first flight in 2023

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida. – SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket only lifted off for the fifth time Sunday night, an impressive twilight launch from Florida that sent a pair of military satellites into orbit.

It was shortly before 6:00 pm when all 27 Merlin engines—nine on each of the rocket’s three boosters—roared under clear but cold skies. As the rocket rose back toward the sunlight, the setting sun illuminated the expanding exhaust plume, creating a glowing growing cloud.

The so-called “space jellyfish” effect often occurs during dawn and dusk launches, but this time the display has added deceleration from both side thrusters, creating a dramatic scene even visible from North Carolina.

Moments later, two sets of triple sonic booms crackled over the Florida coast as the side boosters, each on its second flight, returned for a synchronized landing on the beach near the launch pad. The central core of the rocket, in a rare move for SpaceX, was allowed to fall into the ocean without rescue.

Until last fall’s debut, NASA’s SLS rocket on the Artemis I Falcon Heavy mission — essentially three Falcon 9 rockets linked together — was the world’s most powerful operational rocket. Some argument can be made in favor of retaining this title, as it could be a few more years before the next SLS launch, while there could be four more Falcon Heavy flights this year alone.

Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018 by launching a Tesla roadster into space. Since then, two of his three flights have been for the Department of Defense.

Sunday’s launch, officially named USSF-67, was the third such combat mission. The payload included a Space Force communications relay satellite intended for geostationary orbit at an altitude of 22,000 miles. The second satellite carried what the Space Force called “many diverse payloads,” including some technical prototypes and experiments.

“While the launch itself was impressive, I am most proud of the fact that we have placed important assets in space that help our country stay ahead of very real and growing threats,” Major General Stephen Purdy said in a statement confirming the successful mission. launch.

SpaceX expects 2023 to be a busy year, with dozens of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches for the military, NASA and other commercial customers, and another private crew of astronauts due to debut as early as March.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk says it’s his company’s giant starship and its 33-engine Super Heavy booster is very close to its first orbital test flight from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas.