---
title: "The Falcon Heavy Maiden Launch Will be in November, Elon Musk Announced"
description: "Elon Musk announced that the Falcon Heavy will rocket launch in September. If it goes well, a key goal in his mission to Mars will have been completed."
date: "2017-07-28"
modified: "2017-07-28"
authors:
  - name: "Tom Ward"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/tomward"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-falcon-heavy-maiden-launch-will-be-in-november-elon-musk-announced"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Falcon"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "Falcon Heavy"
  - "mars"
  - "SpaceX"
---

# The Falcon Heavy Maiden Launch Will be in November, Elon Musk Announced

![elon musk spacex falcon heavy mars](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/26405462060_81f8289687_k.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/26405462060/in/photolist-GemUfy-GemTVf-y4WJrs-xPD9sC" target="\_blank"\>SpaceX/Flickr\</a\>\</em\>*

In six short words on an Instagram post Elon Musk announced the next step of SpaceX's plan to eventually fly humans to Mars: "[Falcon Heavy](<http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy>) maiden launch this November." The announcement means that the launch will be a little later than earlier predictions: Musk [tweeted in June](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/872888863504474112?lang=en>) that "all Falcon Heavy cores should be at the Cape \[Canaveral Air Force Station\] in two to three months, so launch should happen a month after that."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXEkGKlgJDK/

If the Falcon Heavy test is successful it will become the most powerful operational rocket in the world: using 27 Merlin rocket engines spread across three falcon 9 cores, it would have a liftoff thrust of 2.3 million kg (5 million lb) that is capable of carrying 54,000 kg (119,000 lb) into orbit — this is twice the payload of the next largest rocket, Delta IV Heavy, and [SpaceX claim](<http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy>) it will cost 66 percent less to deliver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26-CIDaazQ

Musk followed his announcement by divulging a few extra details via Twitter. [He clarified](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/890810308326940672>) SpaceX's plans to retrieve and potentially reuse the rocket's boosters, later qualifying the ambitious goals [by adding](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/890810366615146496>), "If we are lucky"

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/890774088104370176

Musk's cautious optimism mirrored his [previous remarks to a crowd ](<https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43025.60>)at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Washington, "There’s a real good chance that that vehicle does not make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.”

The next few months should be exciting for Musk on a number of other fronts as well: he has [identified September](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-sets-september-as-a-target-for-the-next-mission-to-mars-update>) as when updates on his plan to reach Mars will arrive, the Tesla Model 3 will continue to ramp up production, and the Boring Company will continue to make progress towards decreasing congestion in Los Angeles after its [first elevator test earlier this week](<https://futurism.com/elon-musks-boring-company-just-tested-their-first-car-elevator>).