Space launch company Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has signed the first commercial contract for Falcon Heavy rocket with satellite communications provider Intelsat.
The deal will mark the first launch customer for the heavy rocket. SpaceX CEO, chief designer Elon Musk said that that the Falcon Heavy has more than double the power of the next largest rocket in the world.
"With this new vehicle, SpaceX launch systems now cover the entire spectrum of the launch needs for commercial, civil and national security customers," Musk said.
Under the agreement, SpaceX will launch Intelsat’s satellite aboard the Falcon 9 launch vehicle into the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
Intelsat CTO Thierry Guillemin said timely access to space is an essential element of the company’s commercial supply chain.
"We will work closely with SpaceX as the Falcon Heavy completes rigorous flight tests prior to our future launch requirements," Guillemin added.
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By GlobalDataSpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is a development of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the unmanned Dragon capsule on its maiden voyage to the International Space Station.
Featuring a central core stage, Falcon Heavy is capable of lifting 53t of cargo into orbit and some 12t to GTO, while offering nearly twice the performance of other launchers to low Earth orbit.
SpaceX stated that the new launch vehicle meets the requirements of NASA human rating standards and also the US Air Force for their evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) programme.
The first test flight of a Falcon Heavy rocket is expected to be launched by 2013, from a new launch pad, which is being built at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US.
Image: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo: courtesy of SpaceX.
