Why it took 5 years for the Falcon Heavy to fly

Falcon Heavy. It’s ALMOST HERE! When it flies, it will be the most powerful and highly anticipated rocket of the 21st century.

SpaceX will be attempting the ultimate feat in rocketry, strapping three orbital class boosters together to form a heavy lift vehicle. As if that weren’t enough, the Falcon Heavy will be attempting to land ALL THREE of its massive first stages boosters, two by land one by sea.

SpaceX first announced the Falcon Heavy in 2011 saying the vehicle would be ready to launch in 2013… So why exactly has it taken five additional years to develop a rocket that’s essentially just three Falcon 9’s strapped together?

Well, we’re going to dive into what all has changed since the 2011 announcement including what specific hardware and technology had to be developed. We’re also going to compare the Falcon 9 to the Falcon Heavy in a side by side comparison and explain just why exactly there’s so much more to the Falcon Heavy than just strapping three Falcon 9’s together.

Translations:
French - Gaetan Lafitte

[SardonicALLY]

I'm only four minutes in and I had to pause to say ... this is the greatest video you have ever produced. Consider me entertained.

[wrightmf]

Almost everyone says, "Elon is the greatest, Elon does this, Elon does that, ..." but think of all those SpaceX people that pulled lots of all-nighters to make it all happen.

[AngelArm]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who cheers like a football hooligan at launch/landings!!

[PaulPaulPaulson]

Excellent video! A lot of interesting information combined with a great style of presentation!

[ChuckCreagerJr]

Regardless of the results, the Falcon Heavy launch will be awesome. I hope it is a total success but I agree that as long as it gets far enough to not damage the pad then it will be successful to at least some degree.

[ThysRoes]

Dude you're doing such a great job. Keep it up!

[mayankshrivastava]

12 Struts? Pump up those numbers, those are rookie numbers!

[nickbarrett]

Me: *has $90, 000, 000 lying around*
Tim: *HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS PRODUCT*

[Mx-xvii]

great video, keep up the amazing work

[odysseusrex]

"Two by land and one by sea."
Paul Revere in

[rejsmont]

Just a small correction to your reference to Soyuz having 20 engines. Soyuz has 5 engines - 4 RD-107 and one RD-108 - each with 4 combustion chambers driven by a single turbo-pump. RD-107 has 2 verniers while RD-108 has 4 verniers for attitude authority.

[VEERDEYE]

New to the channel! Great content, thank you for educating me

[GrothBrooks]

Great video. Though it is a bit misleading to say that it's going to Mars. It's going to orbit the sun in an elliptical orbit, and its apoapsis will be close to where Mars orbits the sun. It will never actually get to Mars, it'll just get close during its orbit.

[kenburner]

I am blown away! SO very good. So much info and such a fun way to absorb it!

[dbavatar]

Soyuz doesn't have 20 rocket engines, it only has 5. You're just counting nozzles!!!

[stuartyoung]

You're absolutely right! You've created the BEST anticipatory, and historical background video on the Falcon H that's on the Web! 5 Stars!

[Slartibartfaster]

One of your best videos yet. I thought I knew everything about falcon heavy, but I learned a few new things. Thanks Everyday Astronaut!

[jennifermcclure]

LOVED your shopping channel snippet! So funny!! My kids are almost as excited as I am to watch your new videos and launch streams. Keep up the great work!

[fancymalon]

"fully loaded 737 into orbit"
Interviewer: Why would you send an airliner into orbit?
Elon: Cuz I can.

[teknonel]

dude you really put so much hard work in this video. thats one of the best video about spacex recently. keep it up