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Sonic Booms Signal Successful Falcon Heavy Booster Recovery After Launch
Two Falcon Heavy boosters return to Cape Canaveral, as seen from Jetty Park. Photo: Ray Osburn
SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. For the first time, the company landed all three boosters.
Sonic booms signaled the return of two nearly 200 foot tall boosters as they fell out of the sky and landed at Cape Canaveral.The third booster successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic — a first for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX recovers the boosters and reuses them to reduce the cost of access to space.
Video of @SpaceX #FalconHeavy boosters landing from @jettypark beach. #sonicboom @SpaceBrendan @CapeCanaveralFL #rocket pic.twitter.com/0XoALXd8Vj
— Ray Osburn (@rollercoastinRO) April 11, 2019
The rocket launched a school bus sized Saudi Arabian satellite into orbit. It was the first operational mission for the Falcon Heavy. The private company will fly the rocket again this year on a test mission for the Air Force.
Attempts to launch the mission earlier this week were delayed due to upper-level winds
Falcon Heavy debuted last year on a test mission that sent founder Elon Musk’s cherry-red Tesla electric car on a trip around the sun. Upgrades to the rocket for Thursday’s launch gave the engines 10 percent more thrust.
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