Falcon Heavy is SpaceX's three-core heavy-lift rocket, built on Falcon 9.
spacex-falcon-heavy SpaceX built Falcon Heavy from three Falcon 9 first stages, joined side by side, with one upper stage on the centre core. Its 27 Merlin engines together produce more than 5 million pounds of thrust. It first flew on 6 February 2018, and its only payload was a Tesla Roadster carrying a mannequin called Starman.
Most of it is Falcon 9. The side boosters are Falcon 9 first stages with nose cones fitted, and the centre core is a strengthened version. The upper stage and the fairing, the shell that protects the payload, are unchanged. SpaceX publishes no materials list for Falcon Heavy, but Falcon 9, the rocket it is built on, has aluminium-lithium tanks.
A three-core heavy-lift rocket that has launched large satellites and NASA science missions. Its materials are inherited from Falcon 9, so the core and booster structure is aluminum-lithium with a carbon-fibre interstage.
A centre core and two side boosters make up the first stage, each with nine Merlin engines, and the identical side boosters wear nose cones. The centre core has thicker tank walls. At liftoff it runs at full power for a few seconds, throttles down, then returns to maximum once the side boosters separate.
Each side booster is connected to the centre core at the base engine mount and at the forward end of the core's oxygen tank. The release system sits on the centre core. After burnout, four gas-powered pushers on each side booster, two at the top and two at the base, push it away.
The second stage and the fairing are the same as Falcon 9's, with one Merlin engine modified for vacuum. Most flights have used a mission-extension kit, which allows long coasts between burns. A 4.5-metre composite interstage, the section between the stages, joins the centre core to the second stage.
Each core has four retractable grid fins at the top, which extend after separation to steer it down. Landing legs of the Falcon 9 type, made of carbon fibre and aluminium, let the boosters touch down. The two side boosters have landed side by side at Landing Zones 1 and 2.
Tank walls of the Falcon 9 first stage, which the three cores are based on.
Plate for the barrels of the Falcon 9 first-stage tanks, the design the cores build on.
The core of the interstage sandwich, as on Falcon 9.
The outer sheets of the interstage and, with aluminium, the Falcon 9-type landing legs.
Merlin 1D engines power all three cores, nine on each, and a single Merlin Vacuum powers the upper stage. The design builds on Falcon 9, whose second stage and fairing it shares. Later flights carried the Arabsat-6A communications satellite and the 25 satellites of the STP-2 mission. The fourth and fifth carried the US Space Force payloads USSF-44 and USSF-67.
SpaceX
27 on the first stage: nine on the centre core and nine on each of the two side boosters
one on the shared Falcon 9 second stage
SpaceX
three Falcon 9 first stages form the Falcon Heavy first stage; second stage and fairing are shared
communications satellite flown on the second Falcon Heavy
25 satellites flown on a Falcon Heavy
US Space Force payloads on the fourth and fifth Falcon Heavy boosters
planned Falcon Heavy launch (per NASA, February 2023)
planned Falcon Heavy launch (per NASA, February 2023)
SpaceX
first stage is three Falcon 9 first stages with strengthened cores; same second stage and fairing
SpaceX
Merlin 1D engine. Here: 27 on the first stage: nine on the centre core and nine on each of the two side boosters. There: nine on the first stage, up to 845 kN each at sea level.
SpaceX
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: Interstage; Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets).
Airware 2195-T8 plate. Here: Tank barrels and domes (Falcon 9 first stage). There: Tank barrels and domes (first stage).
Aluminum-lithium alloy. Here: Tank walls (Falcon 9 first stage, basis of the boosters). There: Tank walls.
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs.
ESA
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: H-configuration inner panels (3); Outer panels without cells and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: Platform structure supplier (eoPortal).
ESA
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: Structure (summary).
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: Outer panels (3).
Rockwest Composites
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: Core.
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: Face skin carbon fibre; Face skin laminate pair (2 x 0.008 in), STRATOplateGEO and more.
Rockwest Composites
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: Core.
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: Face skin carbon fibre; HR40 / NB321 unidirectional prepreg and more.
United Launch Alliance
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m). There: Booster heat shield; 5-m payload fairing and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster). There: 400 series interstage adapter; SRB case.
SpaceX gives no materials of its own for Falcon Heavy, so what is known comes from Falcon 9. It says little about how the centre core is reinforced, or what the crossbeams and the side-booster nose cones are made of. It names no suppliers for them. The pushers that separate the boosters are described only in outline.
What is written above is built from these numbers and quotes. Each row links to the page it was taken from. Get all of it as JSON, or ask our MCP server.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Engines and thrust | 27 Merlin engines, more than 5 million lbf |
| Payload to LEO | 141,000 lb (low inclination) |
| Payload to Mars | 37,000 lb |
| First flight | 6 February 2018 |
| Total liftoff thrust (sea level) | 22,819 kN (5,130,000 lbf) |
| Thrust of one first-stage engine at sea level | 845 kN (190,000 lbf) |
| Overall length at launch | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Total fuelled mass | 1,420 t (3,130,000 lb) |
| Thrust at altitude | 24.68 MN (5,550,000 lbf) |
| Crossfeed | not implemented |
| Demonstration flight date | 6 February 2018 |
Each material named in the sources: where it is used here, which other products use it, and its key numbers when its material page exists.
Used in 2 partsInterstage (Falcon 9) · Centre-core interstage (4.5 m)
Used in 1 partTank barrels and domes (Falcon 9 first stage)
Used in 1 partTank walls (Falcon 9 first stage, basis of the boosters)
Used in 1 partLanding legs (Falcon 9 booster)
Only Falcon 9 statements apply; no Falcon Heavy-specific material source found. Components, suppliers and links were added from public sources. A material is left blank where no source states it.
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank walls (Falcon 9 first stage, basis of the boosters)“The Falcon 9 tank walls are made from an aluminum lithium alloy.” | Aluminum-lithium alloyaluminium-lithium-alloy | — | — |
| Tank barrels and domes (Falcon 9 first stage)“Low-density Airware 2195-T8 plate” | Airware 2195-T8 platealuminium-lithium-2195-t8 | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstage (Falcon 9)“is a composite structure with an aluminum honeycomb core and carbon fiber face sheets.” | Aluminum honeycomb core with carbon fiber face sheetsaluminium-honeycomb-hexweb | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster)“landing gear comprised of carbon fiber and aluminum” | Carbon fiber and aluminumcarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Grid fins on each core (four per core)steer each core during descent“four retractable grid fins at the top of each of the three Falcon 9 boosters, which extend after separation” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three-core first stagethree Falcon 9 first stages side by side form the first stage“a center core and two side boosters; each booster and the core has nine Merlin 1D (M1D) engines” | Not said | — | — |
| Center core (thicker tank walls)strengthened Falcon 9 core that carries the booster separation system“The center core consists of thicker tank walls and carries the booster separation system.” | Not said | — | — |
| Side boosters (two, structurally identical)strap-on Falcon 9 first stages that add axial force to the centre core“Structurally, the plus y-axis and minus y-axis boosters are identical.” | Not said | — | — |
| Side-booster nose conesaerodynamic fairing on top of each side booster“two additional Falcon 9 first stages with aerodynamic nose-cones mounted outboard” | Not said | — | — |
| Centre-core interstage (4.5 m)composite structure joining the centre core to the second stage“The Falcon Heavy uses a 4.5 m (15 ft) interstage attached to the first stage core.” | aluminium honeycomb core with carbon fibre face sheet pliesaluminium-honeycomb-hexweb | — | — |
| Core-to-core structural connections (forward and aft)tie each side booster to the centre core“Each side booster is structurally connected to the center core at forward and aft locations.” | Not said | — | — |
| Attachment at the base engine mount and the forward end of the centre-core LOX tankload path between side boosters and centre core“connected to the center core at the base engine mount and at the forward end of the LOX tank on the center core” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster separation system on the centre corereleases the side boosters after burnout“carries the booster separation system” | Not said | — | — |
| Forward pneumatic pusher separation mechanisms (two per side booster)hold the side booster to the top of the centre-core LOX tank and push it away“Two pneumatic pusher separation mechanisms connect the forward ends of each side booster to the center core” | Not said | — | — |
| Aft pusher separation mechanisms (two per side booster)push the base of each side booster away from the centre core“Two identical pusher separation mechanisms connect the aft ends of each side booster to the center core” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin 1D engines (x27, nine per core)first-stage main engines on the centre core and both side boosters“Each of the 27 first stage engines produces 845 kN (190,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level” | Not said | — | Supplier: SpaceX |
| Engine-out propulsion redundancymonitors each engine and can shut down off-nominal engines in flight“With nine engines in each first stage booster, Falcon Heavy has propulsion redundancy” | Not said | — | — |
| Merlin Vacuum engine (x1, second stage)single vacuum-optimised engine on the upper stage“The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin 1D engine modified for vacuum operation” | Not said | — | Supplier: SpaceX |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second stage (same as Falcon 9)reuses the Falcon 9 upper stage“Falcon Heavy utilizes the same second stage and same payload fairing as flown on Falcon 9” | Not said | — | — |
| Mission-extension kit on the second stageallows long coast phases between burns“Most Falcon Heavy launches have used a second stage equipped with a medium or long mission-extension kit” | Not said | — | — |
| Payload fairing (same as Falcon 9)protects the payload; standard 5.2 m fairing“same payload fairing as flown on Falcon 9” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Roadster with Starman mannequinsole payload on the first flight, attached to the second stage“the Falcon Heavy carried a Tesla Roadster as its only payload” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Complex 39A (modified for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy)pad at Kennedy Space Center used for Falcon Heavy“SpaceX modified LC-39A to adapt it to the needs of the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.” | Not said | — | — |
| Transporter Erector at LC-39A212 ft erector for processing and launching Falcon Heavy“is used for processing and launching Falcon Heavy rockets” | Not said | — | — |
Falcon Heavy-specific structure (center core reinforcement, crossbeams) not sourced. More detail: SpaceX publishes no Falcon Heavy bill of materials; the centre-core crossbeam and reinforcement hardware, the side-booster nose-cone material and supplier, and the separation mechanism hardware (pneumatic pushers) construction are not described beyond the user guide wording. The NASA page used for the payload relations is dated February 2023, so 'planned' launches may have flown or moved since; no flight outcome is checked here. Quotes from the Falcon User's Guide (2025) and the NASA Commercial Crew press kit were machine-checked against the PDF text; Wikipedia and NASA web-page quotes came through a text extractor and were not machine-checked. Wikipedia is used for the nose-cone, interstage dimension, grid-fin count and vacuum-engine statements because the readable primary pages do not state them. More detail: SpaceX publishes no Falcon Heavy bill of materials; the centre-core crossbeam and reinforcement hardware, the side-booster nose-cone material and supplier, and the separation mechanism hardware (pneumatic pushers) construction are not described beyond the user guide wording. The NASA page used for the payload relations is dated February 2023, so 'planned' launches may have flown or moved since; no flight outcome is checked here. Quotes from the Falcon User's Guide (2025) and the NASA Commercial Crew press kit were machine-checked against the PDF text; Wikipedia and NASA web-page quotes came through a text extractor and were re-checked in a second fetch pass but not against a saved copy of the page. Wikipedia is used for the nose-cone, interstage dimension, grid-fin count and vacuum-engine statements because the readable primary pages do not state them.
Collected from public pages and documents, checked 4 Nov 2026.
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