SpaceX Had Brilliant Solution to go back to the Moon before China without Starship: Falcon Heavy

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SpaceX Had Brilliant Solution to go back to the Moon before China without Starship: Falcon Heavy === #spacezone #space #spacexstarship #spacex === SpaceX Had Brilliant Solution to go back to the Moon before China without Starship: Falcon Heavy Can SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Send Humans to the Moon? This is a real question that has been considered by NASA as a way to replace the highly cost-overrun Space Launch System with a commercial option. Clearly, Falcon Heavy stands out as one of the best options for the job—due to its reliability and the fact that it's one of the few rockets with the power to do it. So, can it be done? SpaceX Had Brilliant Solution to go back to the Moon before China without Starship: Falcon Heavy First, I know what you're thinking: isn't Falcon Heavy not "human-rated"? That's true—but that doesn't mean it can't be. SpaceX has simply chosen not to pursue human-rating for Falcon Heavy at this time, because their Falcon 9 already supports crewed missions using the Crew Dragon capsule, such as those to the International Space Station and upcoming private missions like Polaris Dawn. That said, with the proper design changes and safety certifications, Falcon Heavy could be made suitable for crewed flights. So let’s set that aside and focus on the real question: can it get humans to the Moon? SpaceX Had Brilliant Solution to go back to the Moon before China without Starship: Falcon Heavy To be fair, Falcon Heavy doesn’t need to push Orion all the way to the Moon. For Artemis III, NASA’s current plan involves launching the Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit, where the crew performs system checks and prepares for the translunar injection maneuver. That TLI burn is handled by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), a single-engine, hydrogen/oxygen-based booster. Once on a trajectory to the Moon, Orion makes additional course corrections before entering a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon. From there, a separate Human Landing System—likely launched separately—would ferry the astronauts to the lunar surface. The combined mass of the Orion capsule, its European Service Module, and a fully-fueled ICPS stage is around 56,000 kg (~123,000 lbs). Falcon Heavy, in its expendable configuration, is capable of lifting up to 63,800 kg (~140,000 lbs) to Low Earth Orbit. That means, at least on a purely performance basis, Falcon Heavy could theoretically do the same job as SLS for launching Orion into Earth orbit.