SpaceX's Next Rocket to be most powerful in the world

SpaceX's Next Rocket to be most powerful in the world



SpaceX's millionaire founder says his company has the "next big thing" in rockets by putting massive payloads into orbit for much less money than its competitors. And maybe to the moon and Mars as well.

The Falcon Heavy rocket has been on the drawing boards for years — but today's announcement by Elon Musk, SpaceX's chief executive officer and chief technology officer, signaled that the concept was on its way from the drawing boards to the launch pad.

Musk told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington that the first Falcon Heavy could be delivered to the launch pad as early as the end of next year, with the launch coming during 2013. Musk said the first demonstration would take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The price tag for a Falcon Heavy launch? An estimated at $80 million to $125 million, compared with up to $187 million for an Atlas 5 and roughly $1 billion for a shuttle mission. In the short term, the rocket would be offered as an alternative to the Atlas 5 or the Delta 4 for the U.S. military's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.