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Launch Vehicle Reaches Max Q, Booster Engines Cutoff

The Falcon Heavy side boosters separate from the center core to begin their descent back to Earth after the launch of the Psyche mission, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.
The Falcon Heavy side boosters separate from the center core to begin their descent back to Earth after the launch of the Psyche mission, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo credit: NASA Television

The Falcon Heavy passed Max Q, or the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket, and reached booster engine cutoff (BECO), where both boosters cease firing and separate from the center core to begin their descent back to Earth.

The side boosters have begun their journey back to Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which will be followed in a few minutes by separation of the central booster from the second stage that carries the Psyche spacecraft.

The side boosters from SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket come in for a successful landing at the company's landing zone at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, just minutes after NASA's Psyche launch from Kennedy Space Center.
The side boosters from SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket descend for landing at the company’s landing zone at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, just minutes after NASA’s Psyche launch from Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: SpaceX