Jul. 30, 2025
Powered by 27 Merlin engines, generating more than five million pounds of combined thrust, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Complex (LC)-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Dec. 28, 2023 at 8:07 p.m. EST, carrying the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-52 mission into Earth orbit. The Falcon Heavy carried the seventh mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the USSF.