Rocket ahead

Posted on July 15, 2020

Traffic in all four directions was temporarily stalled at the intersection of Highway 19 and Highway 98 on Monday as a large 44-wheel trailer hauling a Falcon 9 rocket carefully negotiated the 90-degree turn in the heart of Perry on the way to a launch site further south in Florida.

SpaceX’s reusable, two-stage rockets are used to transport people and payloads into Earth’s orbit and beyond. Manufactured in Hawthorne, California, the Falcon rocket components are hauled almost 2,500 miles by truck to launch pads in Florida — thanks to law enforcement escorts and skilled semi-tractor truck drivers.

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