It Could Fail, Elon Musk Dampens Expectations Regarding Falcon Heavy Launch

SpaceX is set to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket, the much bigger brother to the Falcon 9 soon, but the company’s CEO is already trying to dampen expectations. According to Elon Musk himself, the launch could end up as a disaster since the rocket could crash or explode during lift-off. The Tesla boss said this in front reporters during a recent conference.

Musk made the pronouncement during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development (ISSR&D), which was held in Washington D.C. last Wednesday, Space reports. In his speech, the tech billionaire announced that the Falcon Heavy launch is likely to be later this year.

The launch will still be conducted at the Space Coast in Florida. Musk told his audience that at this point, he is basically hoping that if the rocket does end up exploding, it won’t be near the launch pad and cause substantial damage.

"I hope it makes it far enough away from the pad that it does not cause pad damage. I would consider even that a win, to be honest," Musk said during the event. "Major pucker factor, really; that's, like, the only way to describe it."

Musk’s unwillingness to get people’s hopes up is quite a departure from his usual persona of confidence when it comes to his products. Whenever a new Tesla vehicle is announced or teased, for example, the mogul would usually be upbeat and positive about the results.

On the other hand, his need to set realistic expectations does make sense. The Falcon Heavy rocket will feature three boosters during launch, CNBC reports. This comes up to 27 engines instead of the Falcon 9’s nine. That is a lot of combustible parts that could glitch out and cause a massive fireball.

If all goes well, SpaceX is expected to launch two paying customers to the moon next year. Musk himself is eyeing the International Space Station as a possible destination for a visit, but that won’t be for at least three years.