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Are you sure about that? The marketing materials [1] for the Falcon Heavy say: "Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operation
by andrewwharton 9y ago
Are you sure about that? The marketing materials [1] for the Falcon Heavy say:
"Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy - at one-third the cost."
[1] http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy
- JshWright 9y agoThat depends on the orbital destination. Delta IV Heavy has a _very_ eficient upper stage, which makes it better for high energy destinations. Additionally, the Falcon upper stage has very limited on-orbit capabilities. It can't coast for a long time in order to insert a payload directly into a high orbit. (Though SpaceX is working on this, and did some tests in that direction on the recent NROL-76 launch)