On September 30, SpaceX conducted a static test of the Falcon Heavy engines at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
During the test, 27 engines of the first stage of the rocket were fired briefly without detaching it from the launch pad. This test helped confirm Falcon Heavy’s readiness for the launch of NASA’s Psyche mission, scheduled for October 12 from KSC Pad 39A.
This launch will take Psyche on a long journey to a metallic asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
SpaceX successfully tests the Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of the launch of the Psyche mission
If all goes according to plan, the probe will reach the asteroid Psyche in 2029, and then accompany and study it for at least the next 26 months. The mission’s observations could shed light on the formation of planets and reveal the early stages of the solar system. Researchers believe that the Psyche asteroid may be the core of a protoplanet.
Falcon Heavy is the second most powerful rocket in operation after NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Falcon Heavy has already completed 7 flights, the last of which was in July 2023. The Psyche mission will be the rocket’s first mission for NASA.
