A Space Force spokesperson has said an issue with its U.S. military payload has caused SpaceX to delay the next Falcon Heavy launch to early 2022, according to Spaceflight Now.
The launch was formerly set to happen on October 9, though the spokesperson claimed the Space Force USSF-44 Mission was being pushed back to “accommodate payload readiness,” with a new launch date being planned for early 2022.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy hasn’t been launched since June 2019, though it’s expected to launch multiple military payloads into high-altitude geosynchronous orbit for the USSF-44 Mission. The orbit altitude’s route is set for over 22,000 miles above the equator and will include a flight profile set to last over five hours between each burn – which lands this mission a spot as one of SpaceX’s most hardware-intensive launches yet.
SpaceX Successfully Launches 23rd Resupply Mission to the Space Station https://t.co/3ClhSnerbO
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Among multiple payloads for the military, the USSF-44 Mission is expected to launch a microsatellite called TETRA 1 into orbit, which military officials say will “prototype missions and tactics, techniques and procedures in and around geosynchronous Earth orbit.”
The report comes just weeks after SpaceX’s Inspiration4 all-civilian astronaut mission successfully touched back down following a few-day launch into orbit. The company also launched the first West Coast Starlink satellite mission last month, including a payload of 51 version 2 Starlink satellites.
