Falcon Heavy Returns to Flight After 18 Months — ViaSat-3 F3; Twin RTLS at LZ-2 & LZ-40

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy lifted off at 14:13 UTC from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, marking the vehicle's first flight since Europa Clipper in October 2024. The 12th-ever Falcon Heavy mission delivered the 6.6-metric-ton ViaSat-3 F3 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, completing Viasat's Asia-Pacific broadband constellation. Side boosters B1072 and B1075 performed simultaneous twin Return-to-Launch-Site landings at LZ-2 and the newly inaugurated LZ-40 — the 604th and 605th cumulative Falcon booster recoveries — while center core B1098 was intentionally expended. The flight was SpaceX's 52nd orbital mission of 2026.