Following the ridiculousness that was the first Falcon Heavy launch, where SpaceX launched Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into space (because: why not?), SpaceX has now successfully completed its first launch for a commercial customer using the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.
T-60 seconds → https://t.co/gtC39uBC7z pic.twitter.com/3eVqgEtxyR
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2019
The world’s most powerful rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center earlier this evening, lifting Arabsat-6A into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/bwIfABbhIA
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2019
And not only was the launch flawless, but they even stuck the landing on all three boosters.
Falcon Heavy side boosters have landed at SpaceX Landing Zones 1 and 2! pic.twitter.com/MbIxCPMpGv
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2019
In the only previous launch of the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX landed the two side boosters back at Kennedy Space Center, however the center booster missed the drone ship by just a few feet.
The Falcons have landed pic.twitter.com/BGQRNuYMVH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2019
Of course, landing the boosters successfully is just a secondary objective. The primary objective is to get the customer’s payload into the proper orbit, which they did.
Successful deployment of Arabsat-6A to geosynchronous transfer orbit confirmed—completing Falcon Heavy’s first commercial mission! pic.twitter.com/KeKTP99xvv
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2019
Congrats to SpaceX!