Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, named for its giant pink granite dome rising from the Llano Uplift, spans the border between Gillespie County and Llano County, south of the Llano River and some 24 km north of Fredericksburg, Texas.
SpaceX has been conducting its East Coast launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but they hope to return to their SLC-40 launch site in Cape Canaveral for the Falcon Heavy. SLC-40 is still undergoing repairs, after SpaceXâs last Falcon 9 explosion over a year ago. An alternative launch site, the Kennedy Space Centerâs 39A, is being modified to accommodate the Falcon Heavy.
The Falcon 9 rocket family includes the retired Falcon 9 v1.0 and v1.1, the currently operational Falcon 9 Full Thrust and its Block 4 upgrade, Falcon Heavy, and the in-development Falcon 9 Block 5. Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9: it joins a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as side boosters. The Falcon 9, designed and manufactured by SpaceX, features a reusable first-stage booster, landing either on a ground pad near the launch site, or on a drone ship at sea.