Falcon Heavy, developed and produced by SpaceX, is a formidable heavy-lift launch vehicle. It currently holds the title of having the highest payload capacity among operational launch vehicles and is the third most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit, following the Saturn V and Energia.
Falcon Heavy made its debut launch on February 6, 2018, in a memorable mission that carried Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster, complete with a mannequin named "Starman" in the driver's seat, as a whimsical payload. The second launch, which occurred on April 11, 2019, marked another milestone as all three booster rockets successfully returned to Earth.
Despite its successes, SpaceX has announced that Falcon Heavy will not be used for crewed missions and will not undergo the human-rating certification process for transporting NASA astronauts. Instead, the company is focusing on developing the Starship launch system, which will eventually supersede Falcon Heavy.
