Second mission of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy ace – Spaceflight Now



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Photos captured by remote cameras on Launch Pad 39A show SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which rises to the sky on Thursday night at the top of more than 5 million pounds of thrust.

The three-core rocket, powered by 27 Merlin main engines, was launched from 39A platform at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 18:35. EDT (22:35 GMT) Thursday, heading east on the Atlantic Ocean with the Arabsat 6A communications satellite.

Thursday's launch was the second SpaceX Falcon Heavy flight and the first gigantic launcher flight for a paying customer. Two and a half minutes after takeoff, the Falcon Heavy's two side thrusters broke away and returned to Cape Canaveral for almost simultaneous landings in the SpaceX® landing zones at approximately 15 km south of the 39A platform at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. .

Meanwhile, the main scene successfully landed on SpaceX's drone spacecraft in the Atlantic Ocean more than 600 km downstream from the Florida Space Coast, while the second leg continued to orbit with Arabsat 6A .

These photos show the fiery attack of the Falcon Heavy from the 39A platform and the landings made by the two lateral thrusters of the rocket a few minutes later.

Read our full story for more details on the mission.

Credit: SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ StephenClark1.

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