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SUMMER 2018
In a push provided by 5 million pounds of
thrust, the 230-foot rocket tears away from
Earth, arcing through the sky as cheers rise
from the spectators below. One of them is Doug
Hall, a retired fi refi ghter and volunteer guide
at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). He's watched
more than 100 launches, but this one's differ-
ent. "This means it's a new era," he says, smiling.
There's a new
rocket rising
from launch pad
39A at Kennedy
Space Center
in Florida.
Billowing white
clouds roil
underneath the
Falcon Heavy as
it lifts off.
The orange-
red flicker of
flame beneath
the rocket,
the combined
exhaust from
27 individual
engines, is
nearly too bright
to look at.
