Jane Edwards
SpaceX on Wednesday carried out the first static fire test of its Falcon Heavy rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for its initial launch that CEO Elon Musk said could occur in a “week or so,†Spaceflight Now reported Wednesday.
The company conducted a hold-down firing test of the rocket’s 27 Merlin 1D main engines at launch pad 39a that generated approximately 5 million pounds of thrust.
The 229-foot-tall rocket has a new core stage and two previously-flown side boosters that will run on kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants.
Falcon Heavy is expected to weigh at least 3.1 million pounds and produce approximately 4.7 million pounds of thrust during takeoff.
SpaceX plans to have the rocket bring a Tesla Roadster vehicle into space as part of its maiden flight.
The company is scheduled Jan. 30 to launch a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral in Florida, the report added.
