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Satellite Company Signs Deal To Use SpaceX Heavy Lift Rocket  SpaceX Falcon Heavy The commercial spacecraft manufacturer has signed a deal with Intelsat to use its new heavy lift rocket which is still being designed. The rocket could lift off from a number of different launch sites including Florida. The Falcon Heavy is made up of three Falcon 9 cores: that’s the rocket that last week blasted the company’s Dragon capsule into orbit for a rendezvous with the International Space Station. A launch pad for the new rocket is under construction at Vandenberg Air force base in California for a test flight next year. SpaceX says the rocket could lift off from Cape Canaveral, and the company also wants to develop a new launch facility in either Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico or Florida. Satellite manufacturer Intelsat isn't saying how much its contract with Space X is worth, but the company currently has 52 satellites in orbit. NASA is also developing its own heavy lift rocket as it moves towards deep space exploration. The agency aims to test fly its heavy lift vehicle by 2017. |
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