April 27 (UPI) — SpaceX is set to launch its first Falcon Heavy rocket in 18 months from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday morning.
The rocket, which is to carry a ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite into orbit, is scheduled to launch during an 85-minute window beginning at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
The Falcon Heavy, which last launched in October 2024, uses three modified versions of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage, with an upper stage contained in the central booster. The Falcon Heavy features 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, making it the second most powerful rocket in current use, after NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket, which boasts 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
The 6.6-ton ViaSat-3 F3 satellite is heading to geostationary orbit 22,236 miles over the surface of the Earth. It will provide broadband coverage to ViaSat’s commercial, defense and consumer customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The 45th Weather Squadron said Monday’s launch window has about a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions.
The Falcon Heavy rocket made its first flight in 2018, and has since launched for 10 missions, three of which carried ViaSat-3 satellites into orbit.
Dave Abrahamian, ViaSat’s vice president of satellite systems, said the newest satellite is expected to be ready for use faster than the most recent ViaSat-3 satellite, which was carried into orbit by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket.
“Falcon Heavy is a more powerful vehicle than Atlas 5 was, so they can put us in a more favorable transfer orbit for the electric propulsion,” Abrahamian told Spaceflight Now.
The launch is being livestreamed by Space.com, Spaceflight Now and Space X.
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