SpaceX launches mega rocket, lands all 3 boosters for first time
1 / 7A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying a communication satellite lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, April 11, 2019.
"What an amazing day," a SpaceX flight commentator exclaimed."Three for three boosters today on Falcon Heavy, what an amazing accomplishment." Because this was an upgraded version of the rocket with unproven changes, SpaceX chief Elon Musk cautioned in advance things might go wrong. But everything went exceedingly well and the satellite ended up in the proper orbit. SpaceX employees at company headquarters in Southern California cheered every launch milestone and especially the three touchdowns.NASA offered swift congratulations.
A couple dozen ground telescopes kept tabs on the car during its first several days in space, but it gradually faded from view as it headed out toward the orbit of Mars, Giorgini noted. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine last month suggested possibly using a Falcon Heavy — and another company's big rocket — to get the space agency's Orion capsule around the moon, minus a crew, in 2020. But the preferred method remains NASA's own Space Launch System mega rocket — if it can be ready by then.
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