Get ready to blast off:
The Falcon Heavy rocket from SpaceX will soon have a launch site.
The company–better known as SpaceX than by its official name, Space Exploration Technologies–announced earlier this week that it has broken ground in Southern California at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is a Department of Defense space launch and missile testing site.
SpaceX has high hopes for the Falcon Heavy, which will be used by NASA to bring cargo to the International Space Station.The rocket is the first to break the $1,000-per-pound-to-orbit barrier, a feat that many in the space industry thought wouldn’t happen for quite some time.
That’s a remarkable price, and even more remarkable if it can hit as small a “box” in orbit as ULA hits regularly, putting satellites into orbit. Getting a bird into the sweet spot greatly extends its service life. Getting it up there so cheaply would save million — billions? — more.
We can do that former. Doing the latter would go a long way towards getting customers back from the Russians.
Go, Falcon Heavy!
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