Historical SpaceX launch in February can open up space for exploration again

Elon Musk has announced the first launch of it's newest and most powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy for February 6, 2018 from Cape Canaveral.

The rocket's payload on it's test flight will be Elon Musk's own personal red Tesla Roadster, blasting David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on an elongated orbit that will take it as far as Mars.

Beyond the silliness of the payload, and the high risks associated with a test launch that may not make it to orbit on the first try, this is a great moment in the new commercial space race.

At 63800 kg to LEO in it's expendable configuration the rocket will have about 2.5 times the capacity of the next more powerful rocket on the market, and it will be the most capable rocket in the last 30 years.

But beyond it's power, SpaceX's commitment to lowering the cost of access to space is what makes the new launch vehicle revolutionary. In a reusable configuration, it's two boosters and first stage are designed to land back and be reused, which lowers the total payload capacity but drastically reduces the price/kg.

Still SpaceX is not completely without competition - Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are working on their own giant reusable rocket at a slow but steady pace.

Image credit: SpaceX