We have known for a long time the fact that today in SpaceX They are working on the development and manufacture of the largest and most powerful engine that mankind has ever known, the same with which the company hopes to be the first to get humanity to Mars. Undoubtedly a very important goal that, it seems, will begin to take shape in 2020, just with the launch of one of the most important missions for the American company.
At the moment, the truth is that little or nothing is known about the enormous and powerful engine that SpaceX is working on except that, to this day, already have started running boot and performance tests on it as well as a first take-off test. With this, the company was waiting for it to finally be confirmed when it will be designated by an agency as the necessary rocket to carry out some type of specific mission. It seems that time has already come.
After much uncertainty, it was the United States Air Force that needed an engine like the Falcon Heavy to carry out one of its missions.
This announcement was officially made yesterday 21 June. The idea is to use SpaceX's Falcon Heavy for a launch that is due to take place during the month of 2020 September from the Kennedy Space Center, located in Florida. The cost of this mission to the United States Air Force is 130 million, a published cost that will be higher than the standard rate for launching a Falcon Heavy due to the safety requirements necessary to carry out such a military mission.
As a detail, tell you that before this date there are already other missions established for the Falcon Heavy although this in particular is one of the most important for the company since it means that, after a long time, finally the United States Air Force has certified the rocket after just one test flight.
In the words of Gwinne Shotwell, President and Operations Manager within SpaceX:
SpaceX has been honored with the selection of the Falcon Heavy by the Air Force to launch the AFSPC-52 mission above all competition. On behalf of all of our employees, I want to thank the United States Air Force for certifying the Falcon Heavy, granting us this critically important mission, and for their trust in our company. SpaceX is pleased to continue to offer the American taxpayer the best cost of reliable and effective launch services for vital national security space missions.
The Falcon Heavy is one of the most powerful tools SpaceX has to stand up to the United Launch Alliance
Undoubtedly, with the arrival of the Falcon Heavy SpaceX has achieved a new and above all powerful tool against its current competition in this type of mission, the United Launch Alliance, which, despite being highly trusted by the government from the United States, the truth is that it has much higher prices. To give us an idea in this regard, for the United States Air Force, spend 130 million dollars in the launch of this rocket It is between a third and half the price compared to that offered by the United Launch Alliance.
At this point, I personally have to confess that it has caught my attention that the Air Force has certified the Falcon Heavy with only one test flight since, usually, they require several flights. On the other hand, apparently the military is working to evolve its strict certification process therefore, the data offered in this first test must have been sufficient.