Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. While these expensive one-offs don't fly nearly as often as telecom satellites, they do need rides on a fairly regular basis. An Ariane 5 launched NASA's $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope on Dec. 25, 2021, for example; the European vehicle has two missions under its belt this year as well. The Delta IV Heavy has launched three times since the Falcon Heavy last lifted off. So there must be more to the explanation than simple demand. There is, and it centers largely on bad luck — or, at least, a factor that's beyond SpaceX's control. "It's not the vehicle; it's the delivery of spacecraft," Smith said. Several planned Falcon Heavy launches have been pushed back significantly due to issues with their satellites, he explained. USSF-44 is one such mission; it was originally supposed to lift off in late 2020, but payload problems scuttled that plan, as SpaceflightNow noted. (Military officials have not disclosed the nature of the issues that caused the delay.) NASA's Psyche asteroid mission is another example. Psyche, which will visit the bizarre metallic space rock that it's named after, was scheduled to launch atop a Falcon Heavy this fall. But software issues have pushed the liftoff back to July 2023 at the earliest, and there's a chance the mission could be canceled. Indeed, a quick look at the Falcon Heavy manifest shows that there's robust demand for the heavy lifter. For instance, NASA has tapped the Heavy to launch some of its highest-profile hardware over the coming years, including the Europa Clipper mission in 2024, key elements of the Gateway moon-orbiting space station that same year, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in 2026. Related stories: