00:00A rocket disappeared because the Falcon Heavy was cheaper and more powerful. And yet there
00:06were hardly any launches. And this is where it gets strategically interesting. Many people today
00:11believe that the Falcon Heavy was simply the logical next step after the Falcon 9. But that's
00:17only partly true. The truth lies elsewhere, namely with the so-called national security launches.
00:24The US Air Force and later the Space Force needed a heavy rocket that could launch large reconnaissance
00:31satellites. It had to reach high energy orbits, carry multiple payloads at the same time and above
00:37all be certified and reliable. Back then, the Delta IV Heavy dominated this market. SpaceX wanted to get
00:46in. And for that, they needed a heavy lift rocket immediately. So instead of building a completely
00:52new architecture, they used what they already had. The Falcon 9. Three of them together and you had
01:00the Falcon Heavy. A pragmatic step.
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