SpaceX Successfully Deploys ViaSat-3 F3 Satellite on Falcon Heavy Rocket A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite on April 29, 2026, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The mission marked the 12th flight of the Falcon Heavy since its debut in 2018 and the second deployment of a ViaSat-3 satellite using the rocket. The satellite, weighing 6 tons, was carried into orbit by the rocket’s 27 Merlin engines, which generated 5 million pounds of thrust during liftoff. The launch followed a scrubbed attempt on April 27 due to poor weather conditions and a delayed second attempt on April 28. The Falcon Heavy’s three-stage design enabled a complex sequence of events during the flight. Less than 2.5 minutes after liftoff, the two side boosters—tail numbers B1072 and B1075—separated from the center core (B1098) and initiated a boost-back burn to return to landing pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Both side boosters successfully landed at Landing Zone 2 and Landing Zone 40, with the latter being the first use of SpaceX’s new landing pad at Space Launch Complex 40. The center core, however, did not attempt a landing and continued to the second stage. The second stage executed a series of burns over five hours to position the satellite for deployment into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The upper stage featured an additional thermal protection layer to prevent rocket-grade kerosene from freezing during the four-hour coasting phase between the second and third engine ignitions. Deployment of the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite occurred nearly five hours after liftoff, confirmed by SpaceX shortly after 3:30 p.m. EDT.#spacex #cape_canaveral_space_force_station #viasat_3_f3 #launch_complex_39a #landing_zone_2
