SpaceX fired the Falcon Heavy’s engines on a launch pad for the first time Jan. 24, moving the new rocket closer to its long-awaited first flight test.
The company tweeted a 22-second video showing a huge white cloud of exhaust gushing from the base of the launch vehicle during the static fire test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As the cloud formed, a fireworks-like boom sounded.
“Falcon Heavy hold-down firing this morning was good,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted. “Generated quite a thunderhead of steam. Launching in a week or so.”
The Falcon Heavy is based on the Falcon 9 but triples the number of first-stage engines, providing more lift. It is designed to carry large payloads to orbit and could eventually take people to the Moon or Mars.
The first flight has been delayed by several years. Musk said in July that developing the new rocket has proven more challenging than expected (Defense Daily, July 20, 2017).