SpaceX Plans Largest Rocket Since Moon Program

Written By: James Heiser  |  Posted: Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

            An American company is planning to build the largest rockets since the days of NASA's Apollo program, and promises to deliver payloads to orbit for a tenth the cost of the space shuttles of the U.S.'s troubled space agency. SpaceX has already successfully launch a smaller vehicle called the Falcon 9 on several occasions, but now the company has announced plans for a bold, new step in the development of private space flight.

            The new rocket which SpaceX is planning to develop is called the Falcon Heavy, and it will be powerful enough to send payloads as far as the moon or even to Mars. According to press reports, only the Saturn V booster, which was used during the days of the Apollo program, was larger than the Falcon Heavy. An article for the Associated Press compares the Falcon Heavy to several other launch vehicles:

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