OperationalSpaceXUnited StatesFirst Launch: 2018-02-06
Falcon Heavy
The world's most powerful operational heavy-lift rocket with synchronized side booster landings.
Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores strapped together, its 27 Merlin 1D engines generate over 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Falcon Heavy provides unprecedented payload capability to high-energy geostationary, lunar, and interplanetary trajectories while retaining dual-booster propulsive landing recovery.
SpaceStats Reliability & Flight Record
TOTAL LAUNCHES
11
Orbital missions
SUCCESSFUL
11
0 failures
SUCCESS RATE
100.0%
LANDINGS
20
Reusable First Stage
SpaceXFeatured Photography
Falcon Heavy Clearing Launch Tower 39A
NASA / Joel Kowsky
Architecture Analysis & Development Story
Engineering DossierHistory & Development
Initially announced in 2011, developing Falcon Heavy proved significantly more complex than simply strapping three Falcon 9 boosters together due to intense structural loads on the reinforced center core. The vehicle made its historic test flight on February 6, 2018, launching Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster on a heliocentric trans-Mars orbit accompanied by synchronized simultaneous side-booster landings at Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Operational Record & Mission Impact
Falcon Heavy holds a 100% mission success record, executing high-profile missions including NASA's Europa Clipper flagship mission to Jupiter's icy moon, the Psyche asteroid explorer, US Space Force classified payloads to direct GEO, and NOAA GOES-U weather satellites.
Key Engineering Innovations & Design Highlights
27 Merlin 1D engines firing in parallel at liftoff producing over 22.8 MN (5.1 million lbf) of sea-level thrust.
Reinforced center core designed to withstand extreme aerodynamic shear and structural compressive loads.
Dual synchronized side booster return-to-launch-site (RTLS) propulsive recoveries.
High-energy direct-injection capability for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) and outer solar system flagship probes.
Technical & Propulsion Specifications
Operator: SpaceXVehicle Dimensions & Mass
- Overall Height
- 70 m
- Body Diameter
- 12.2 m
- Gross Lift-off Mass
- 1,420.8 t
- Stages Count
- 2
- Fairing Diameter
- 5.2 m
- Strap-On Boosters
- 2x Boosters
First Stage Core + Dual Side Boosters
- Main Engines
- 27x Merlin 1D (3x Octaweb)
- Propellant
- Densified LOX / RP-1
- SL Thrust
- 22,819 kN
- Vacuum Isp
- 311s
- Dry Mass
- 65 t
- Recovery Mode
- RTLS
Upper Stage
- Upper Engine
- 1x Merlin 1D Vacuum (MVacD)
- LEO Capacity
- 63.8 t
- GTO Capacity
- 26.7 t
- TLI (Lunar)
- 15.3 t
- Cost per Launch
- $97,000,000
- LEO Price / kg
- ~$1,520 / kg
Fleet Deployment & Economics Suite
Model Satellite Constellations or Payload Charters with Falcon Heavy
Calculate multi-plane Walker Delta fleet costs, fairing dispenser limits, launch cadence timelines, and single-mission rideshare economics.
Launch Complexes & Spaceports Network
1 Active Launch PadsLaunch Complex 39A (LC-39A)
Kennedy Space Center
Florida, USA
28.608°N, -80.604°E
Milestone & Historic Missions
Key Flight Achievements2018-02-06Success
Falcon Heavy Test Flight
Customer: SpaceX
Inaugural demonstration flight carrying Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla Roadster and Starman to heliocentric orbit.
2024-10-14Success
Europa Clipper
Customer: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Flagship planetary science mission launched on an interplanetary direct-escape trajectory to Jupiter.
High-Resolution Photo Gallery & Media
5 photos & renders of Falcon Heavy
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Liftoff2018-02-06Falcon Heavy Clearing Launch Tower 39A
Falcon Heavy lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A clearing the Fixed Service Structure.
NASA / Joel Kowsky
Source 
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Landing2018-02-06Synchronized Dual Side Booster Landing
Falcon Heavy twin side boosters touch down simultaneously at Landing Zones 1 and 2 in Cape Canaveral.
Kim Shiflett / NASA
Source 
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Pad2018-01-05Falcon Heavy on Launch Complex 39A
Triple-core Falcon Heavy vehicle standing tall on historic Pad 39A prior to static fire testing.
SpaceX
Source 
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Landing2023-10-13Falcon Heavy Psyche Mission Booster Recovery
Booster descent burn following the successful launch of NASA's Psyche deep space asteroid probe.
U.S. Space Force / Space Launch Delta 45
Source 
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Liftoff2024-10-14Falcon Heavy Launching Europa Clipper
Falcon Heavy launching NASA's flagship Europa Clipper probe on a 1.8-billion-mile journey to Jupiter's icy moon.
NASA / Kim Shiflett
Source SpaceStats Launch Manifest & Database
3 mission records cataloged in database
| Flight / Mission | Orbit | Launch Date | Pad / Location | Booster / Landing | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Falcon Heavy | Griffin Mission One Griffin Mission One | LO | Dec 31, 2026 | Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA | Unknown FH ASDS | TBD | Details → |
Falcon Heavy | NROL-97 NROL-97 | N/A | Oct 2, 2026 | Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA | B1106 ASDS | GO | Details → |
Falcon Heavy | Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | L2 | Aug 30, 2026 | Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA | B1104 ASDS | SUCCESS | Details → |