SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying secret cargo into space for US Space Force

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 17:56 local time—02:56 Armenia time—on Sunday, carrying a military communication satellite and five small payloads into orbit for the US Space Force. This secret mission was named USSF-67.

As Space.com reports, Falcon Heavy consists of three modified SpaceX first-stage Falcon 9 rockets attached to each other. The payload being carried into space is placed on the central rocket.

Falcon Heavy's first-stage booster rockets are designed to be reusable, as is the case with the Falcon 9, and two of them have already returned to Earth and successfully landed at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This was the second landing for each of these rockets; both participated in USSF-44, a Falcon Heavy mission for the US Space Force that launched on November 1, 2022.

USSF-67's center booster missile was a new device and will not get a chance to fly again. As planned, on Sunday, not long after takeoff, it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The second stage of the Falcon Heavy rocket continued its flight and carried its useful payload into orbit. Not much of this rocket's journey was shown because just as the first stage rockets landed, SpaceX, at the request of the US Space Force, stopped broadcasting. In any case, it is not clear when the cargo is scheduled to be deployed.

What has taken into space?

As part of the USSF-67 mission, the primary payload satellite is called Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM 2 (CBAS-2), which has been taken a geostationary orbit about 35,700 kilometers from Earth.

The CBAS-2's mission is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and continuously broadcast military data via space-satellite rebroadcast links, the US Space Force said.

As reported by EverydayAstronaut.com, the USSF-67 also delivered the Long Duration Propulsive ESPA (LDPE)-3A, a payload adapter that can house up to six small satellites, into orbit. There are five satellites in this mission on the LDPE-3A.

The statement released by the US Space Force says that the LDPE-3A has two satellites: Catcher and WASSAT. They are intended for the Space Systems Command, which is responsible for developing and maintaining space capabilities for US fighter jets.

According to EverydayAstronaut.com, Catcher is a prototype sensor designed to monitor potential hazards caused by space weather.

"WASSAT most likely stands for Wide Area Search Satellite, which is a camera/sensor designed to monitor other satellites and gather data on their trajectories and anomalies like changes of their orbits," the paper writes.

The other three satellites on board the LDPE-3A were developed by the US Space Force's Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO). Two of them are operational prototypes for enhanced situational awareness, and the other is a coding prototype for an interface to enable secure communications between space and Earth.

On November 2, 2022, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy made its first flight since 2019 and launched a US military satellite into orbit.