Payload
Falcon Heavy missions will deliver large payloads to orbit inside a composite fairing but the rocket can also carry the Dragon spacecraft.
Composite Fairing
The composite payload fairing protects satellites during delivery to destinations in low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and beyond.
Second Stage
Falcon Heavy draws upon Falcon 9’s proven design, which minimizes stage separation events and maximizes reliability. The second stage Merlin engine identical to its counterpart on Falcon 9 delivers the rocket’s payload to orbit after the main engines cut off and the first stage cores separate. The engine can be restarted multiple times to place payloads into a variety of orbits including low Earth, geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and geosynchronous orbit (GSO).
Engine: 1
Burn Time: 397sec
Thrust in Vacuum: 934kN210,000 lbf
First Stage
Three cores make up the first stage of Falcon Heavy. The side cores or boosters are connected at the base and at the top of the center core’s liquid oxygen tank. The three cores with a total of 27 Merlin engines generate 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds) of thrust at liftoff. Shortly after liftoff the center core engines are throttled down. After the side cores separate, the center core engines throttle back up to full thrust.
Cores: 3
Engines: 27
Thrust at sea level: 22,819kN5,130,000 lbf
Thrust in Vacuum: 24,681kN5,548,500 lbf
Boosters
Each of Falcon Heavy’s side cores or boosters, is equivalent to the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket with nine Merlin engines. At liftoff, the boosters and the center core all operate at full thrust. Shortly after liftoff, the center core engines are throttled down. After the side cores separate, the center core engines throttle back up.
Three nine engine cores
Inside each of Falcon Heavy’s three cores is a cluster of nine Merlin engines. These same engines power Falcon 9 enabling efficiencies that make Falcon Heavy the most cost effective heavy lift launch vehicle in the world. With a total of 27 first stage engines, Falcon Heavy has engine out capability that no other launch vehicle can match under most payload scenarios, it can sustain more than one unplanned engine shutdown at any point in flight and still successfully complete its mission.
Technical Overview
Height: 70m229.6 ft
Stages: 2
Boosters: 2
Payload to Leo: 63,800kg140,660 lb
Payload to Mars: 16,800kg37,040 lb
Total Width: 12.2m39.9 ft
Mass: 1,420,788kg3,125,735 lb
Payload to GTO: 26,700kg58,860 lb
Payload to Pluto: 3,500kg7,720 lb
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