The next SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch date is up in the air, but the most optimistic projections have Viasat-3 flying in December. A Space Force payload is just behind, in 2023.
This week's SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch was the first one of that type in 40 months, and whetted space fans' appetites for more. Fans of Falcon Heavy, a massive rocket built by SpaceX, won't have that long of a gap next time after the epic Nov. 1 launch that hefted a military satellite to space. The next mission may launch as soon as December, although the timing has a lot of uncertainty.
There are two contenders for the next launch: another military satellite on behalf of Space Force, or a communications satellite for ViaSat to begin a trio of high-bandwidth communication launches.ViaSat has not yet confirmed its October promise(opens in new tab) that the launch will go later this year, and likely won't do so until it releases financial results on Tuesday (Nov. 8), at the earliest. SpaceFlightNow's launch calendar(opens in new tab) suggests NET (no earlier than) December 2022, but the date is tentative and could push into the new year.Alternatively, a classified payload for Space Force (called USSF-67) is expected to go forward as soon as January 2023, according to an October report from SpaceFlightNow(opens in new tab), which found possible clues for the satellite's functionality in the mission patch.
"Mission patches for the USSF-67 launch indicate it will carry the second spacecraft for the Space Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, or CBAS, program," the report stated. "The first CBAS satellite launched in 2018, and officials said then the satellite was designed to relay communications signals between senior leaders and military combatant commanders."
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