Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket rolls to the launch pad Monday for the USSF-44 mission. One is called the Shepherd Demonstration, and the other is the Space Force’s second Long Duration Propulsive ESPA, or LDPE 2, spacecraft, itself hosting six payloads - three that will remain attached to the spacecraft and three that will deploy from LPDE 2 to perform their own missions. There are two payloads stacked on top of the other inside the Falcon Heavy’s nose cone. The Space Force has released little information about the satellites launching on the Falcon Heavy rocket. Stephen Purdy, the Space Force’s program executive officer for assured access to space. ![]() The Falcon Heavy is an important element of our overall lift capability, and we’re very excited to be ready for launch,” said Brig. “This launch culminates years of effort by a dedicated team comprised of mission-focused people from across the U.S. This launch is an important milestone and continues a robust partnership that is cementing a capability that will serve the nation for years to come.” ![]() “This will be the first Falcon Heavy launch in over three years and we’re excited to get these payloads to space. “We’ve worked side-by-side with SpaceX to ensure the Falcon Heavy meets all our requirements and has a successful launch,” said Walt Lauderdale, the Space Force’s mission director for the USSF-44 launch. The STP-2 mission was billed as a demonstration flight of the rocket before future launches with more critical national security payloads. The Falcon Heavy’s most recent launch in June 2019 carried 24 experimental satellites for the military and NASA on the Space Test Program-2, or STP-2, mission. The launch will be the first fully operational national security mission to fly on SpaceX’s heavy-lifter. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket rolls up the ramp to pad 39A Monday. The Space Force blamed the delay on satellite-related problems. The USSF-44 mission has been delayed about two years from the original schedule of late 2020. But it is the first Falcon Heavy mission since June 25, 2019, following a series of delays encountered by SpaceX’s customers. The launch, which the Space Force has designated USSF-44, will mark the fourth flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket currently flying. The most visible modification is the addition of gray paint on the outside of the upper stage’s kerosene fuel tank, which will help ensure the fuel does not freeze as the rocket spends hours in the cold environment of space. ![]() The long-duration mission required SpaceX to make some changes to the Falcon Heavy rocket. The mission’s high-altitude target orbit means the Falcon Heavy’s upper stage will need to coast for some six hours through the Van Allen radiation belts before reigniting its engine and deploying the Space Force’s satellites. Space Force. The powerful rocket’s two reusable side boosters will return to Cape Canaveral for landing. The first Falcon Heavy rocket flight since 2019 is scheduled Tuesday to kick off SpaceX’s longest-duration launch mission to date, a roughly six-hour climb into geosynchronous orbit more than 20,000 miles over the equator with a bundle of payloads for the U.S. The 27 Merlin engines on the Falcon Heavy’s three first stage boosters.
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