Debuut voor SpaceX Falcon Heavy infographic
Graphic toont de specificaties van de Falcon Heavy.
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RUIMTEVAART

Eerste vlucht ’s werelds krachtigste rakett

By Jordi Bou

January 31, 2018 - SpaceX gaat zijn Falcon Heavy-raket proeflanceren. Met 27 motoren die 2,25 miljoen kilo stuwkracht bij de lift-off leveren, is de driedelige booster de krachtigste lanceerder ter wereld. De lange tijd uitgestelde eerste lancering is een demonstatiemissie zonder betalende klant.

In December, the company’s chief executive Elon Musk announced the rocket would carry his own Tesla Roadster sports car on a trajectory that would take it past the planet Mars. The Falcon Heavy will be “the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two,” according to SpaceX.

Before launch, the Falcon Heavy will perform a critical Static Fire test. A staggered start sequence will see all 27 Merlin 1D engines ignited together.

Once the static fire is complete, data will be reviewed to determine whether a second static fire is necessary before proceeding into the launch campaign.

Falcon Heavy will target the end of January for its maiden voyage with January 25 pencilled in as a No Earlier Than (NET) date if the static fire goes perfectly.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 16/01/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: SpaceX
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