SEP 12, 2017

Video Footage Shows Test of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket Engine

WRITTEN BY: Anthony Bouchard


Earlier this month, SpaceX completed a successful test fire of the engine that will power the commercial space company's upcoming Falcon Heavy rocket.

Capable of lifting a staggering 37,000 pounds to Mars, this Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful ever built by SpaceX. If you look closely, it looks almost like three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, but we assure you it's a bit more complicated than that.

Like all the Falcon 9 rockets before it, all the Falcon Heavy's booster rockets will each be able to land upright on Earth for refurbishing and reuse after a successful launch.

Falcon Heavy will officially launch in its entirety later this year; the maiden voyage is estimated for December, although it will be an unmanned rocket launch as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk doesn't want to chance catastrophic failure with an untested rocket technology.

Only NASA's Saturn V rocket had more liftoff power than the Falcon Heavy rocket, but no rockets since then have come close to this kind of power.