SpaceX completes ‘static fire’ test to launch Falcon Heavy again after three years

SpaceX has successfully completed a static fire test with the Falcon Heavy, the company’s relatively heavy launch vehicle. It has not flown since June 2019, but that should change on November 1.

According to SpaceX This test has been completed and is now targeted for a November 1 launch from Florida. This concerns mission USSF-44, a secret mission with two payloads for the United States Space Force. A static fire test is a commonly used pre-launch test in which the lower rocket stage motors are briefly ignited while the rocket is still riveted.

Since its maiden flight in 2018, the Falcon Heavy has flown only twice, and those launches both took place in 2019. After June 2019, the rocket has not ascended. This is partly due to the low demand for such relatively heavy missiles.

However, there is plenty of interest in the rocket. The fact that there have been no flights for so long is mainly due to delays in the satellites or payloads to be launched. For example, the upcoming USSF-44 mission should have gone up as early as late 2020 and NASA’s Psyche Asteroid Mission should have started this fall. However, that launch has already been postponed to July next year due to software problems.