Thanks! Did some googling too. Heavy means over 140 metric tons (Falcon Heavy is an order of magnitude more), and “heavy” serves as a warning of turbulence for smaller aircraft.
It’s different for rockets:
The FAA office that regulates launch activity (AST) defines vehicle mass and spacecraft mass this way (page 94):
I completely agree! I was just at KSC for the first time a few weeks ago on a trip with my students. I got tears in my eyes during that epic reveal they do for Atlantis! What was really cool about it was how moved my high school group was as well. I heard many comments about wanting to go back to see more of the place. I consider that a real win!
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