MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – SpaceX is set to send two spacecraft payloads to geosynchronous orbit on behalf of the U.S. Space Force just after Halloween, treating Floridians to their first Falcon Heavy launch in more than three years.
The launch is set for Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
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Originally, the launch was set for Monday, Oct. 31 — Halloween — though SpaceX announced that the flight would now target Tuesday after a static fire test.
Static fire of Falcon Heavy complete; targeting Tuesday, November 1 for launch of the USSF-44 mission from Launch Complex 39A in Florida
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 28, 2022
The mission, USSF-44, was originally to be launched in late June, on a date which would have fallen around three years to the month since the last Falcon Heavy took off from KSC on June 25, 2019.
Joining TETRA-1, a microsatellite developed by Millennium Space Systems for the U.S. Military, the USSF-44 mission includes a classified payload.
A photo shared this week by SpaceX shows the rocket’s boosters at LC-39A. In no particular order related to the photo, the boosters B1064, B1065 and B1066 will all be making their first flight. While SpaceX will attempt to recover two of the boosters, it considers B1066 expendable, according to Next Spaceflight.
ClickOrlando.com will stream the launch live when coverage begins.
Falcon Heavy in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A pic.twitter.com/Ul1Ti8e8qH
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 23, 2022
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