SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launches the USSF-44 mission for the U.S. Space Force on Nov. 1, 2022.
(Image credit: SpaceX via Twitter)
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket currently flying, launched a handful of classified payloads for the U.S. Space Force on Nov. 1, 2022. It was the first Falcon Heavy mission since June 2019.
The mission, called USSF-44, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two of the Falcon Heavy‘s three core boosters returned for successful touchdowns at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station; the rocket’s central booster ditched into the sea rather than attempt its own landing, because the demanding mission used up most of its propellant.
See photos of the launch and booster landings, as well as some of the prep work leading up to the liftoff, in this gallery.
Related: Why SpaceX hadn’t flown a Falcon Heavy rocket since 2019
