The launch of SpaceX's next Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled for early 2023.
The US Space Force says that the rocket is on track to launch again early next year, two weeks after the first launch in three and a half years. After the first operational launch for the US Space Force, the Space Systems Command confirmed that the next military launch would be in January of 2020. The military confirmed that USSF-67 would reuse two of the three Falcon Heavy boosters that helped launch USSF-44 on November 1st. The US Space Force's tone hasn't changed, and the Space Systems Command remains confident that Falcon Heavy is on track to launch USSF-67 less than three months after USSF-44.
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No change is a good sign if it is intentional rather than a matter of not checking with US stakeholders. The last time the SSC reported, USSF-67 was on track to launch in January of 2023. USSF 44 was the company's first launch directly above Earth's surface. The company has enough time to thoroughly inspect each booster and begin the refurbishment process. If data gathered from the launch, landing, or recovered boosters revealed issues with Falcon Heavy's performance, USSF-67 would almost certainly be delayed. The chances of a delay are magnified by the fact that USSF-67 can't launch until two of USSF-44's Falcon Heavy boosters are refurbished and declared ready for a second flight.
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It appears that even a gap of 40 months between Falcon Heavy launches wasn't enough to make the company fail. In less than three months, the company launched two Falcon Heavy rockets with one pair of side boosters. The reuse of Flight 2's side boosters was for the US Air Force, so the military already has experience tackling those challenges. In the three and a half years since, the company has gained a lot of experience recovering and refurbished Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters and slashed the time between two launches of the same booster from 74 days to 21 days. After their debut, the Falcon Heavy side boosters B1064 and B1065 should be ready for a second launch.
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While preparing one Falcon Heavy rocket to launch USSF-67 in January, according to customer ViaSat, they may also be preparing another Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the first ViaSat-3 satellite the same month. ViaSat has yet to send its first next-generation satellite to the launch site, unlike the US Space Force, which recently sent one of its payloads to Florida. That makes a February or March launch more likely, but ViaSat recently told shareholders that ViaSat-3 remains on track to launch in the earliest part of Q1 2023. The Falcon Heavy side boosters B1064, B1065, B1052, and B1053 are scheduled to be reuse. According to Next Spaceflight, each will use a brand new center core: B1068 for ViaSat-3 and B1079 for USSF-67.
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The new center cores are expected to be used for the first time. There will likely be at least a two, three, or even four-week gap between Falcon Heavy's next two launches due to the amount of time it takes to assemble and prepare the rocket. As long as USSF-67 and ViaSat-3 are ready to fly during narrow windows in early and late January, it appears that two Falcon Heavy rockets could be launched in a single month. After more than three years without a single flight, there will be as many as five Falcon Heavy launches by the end of the decade.
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