Previous look at existing, planned and proposed Spacex rockets
It appears from a video that SpaceX will be announcing the Falcon 9 heavy rocket on April 5, 2011 A planned “Falcon 9 Heavy” will launch 32 tons.
Screenshot of a video showing the engine profile of the rocket
The Falcon 9 heavy page indicates it will launch 32 tons at a launch cost of $95 million
There was a Falcon 9 Heavy on the Spacex launch manifest for sometime in 2012.
Capable of lifting over 32,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and over 19,500 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the Falcon Heavy will compete with the largest commercial launchers now available. It consists of a standard Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages acting as liquid strap-on boosters. With the Falcon 9 first stage already designed to support the additional loads of this configuration and with common tanking and engines across both vehicles, development and operation of the Falcon Heavy will be highly cost-effective.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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