SpaceX launches most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Bangladesh’s first communication satellite

The California-based aerospace company SpaceX on May 11, 2018 launched its most powerful rocket yet ‘Falcon 9’, which is expected to carry humans to space later this year. The rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida

The main aim behind the launching of the Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket was to propel Bangladesh’s first high-orbit communications satellite, namely, Bangabandhu Satellite-1.

The launch was initially expected to take place on May 10, 2018, but due to triggering of the automatic abort switch, the launch was postponed at the last minute.

After successful liftoff, the rocket returned to an upright landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Block 5 Falcon 9 Rocket

• The Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket is, ultimately, meant for carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) around December 2018. If things happen as planned, it will be the first time that a rocket will carry people to space since the end of the US space shuttle program in 2011.

• The rocket is built to re-fly up to 10 times with minimal refurbishment with an aim to bring down the cost of spaceflight.

• The Falcon 9 Block 5’s avionics are multi-fault tolerant, that is, the rocket can still reach orbit after multiple system failures.