CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy mega rocket for the first time in more than three years Tuesday, lifting satellites for the military and then nailing side-by-side booster landings near the pad. Thick fog blanketed NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as the rocket launched at noon. The crowd at the launch site couldn’t even see the pad three miles (5 km) away, but they heard the roar of the 27 first stage engines. Both side boosters detached two minutes after takeoff, flew back to Cape Canaveral and landed next to each other, just a few seconds apart. The center stage was jettisoned into the sea, the entire energy needed to get the Space Force satellites into their intended ultra-high orbit. This was SpaceX’s fourth flight of a Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket currently in use. The first, in 2018, launched SpaceX chief Elon Musk’s red Tesla convertible. followed by the next two Heavy launches in 2019, lifting satellites.
The Associated Press Health and Science Section is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Education Division. AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
