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SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasts off from Florida in debut test flight

Updated / Wednesday, 7 Feb 2018 07:30
The successful launch will open up a new range of opportunities for SpaceX such as progressing plans to eventually send humans to Mars
The successful launch will open up a new range of opportunities for SpaceX such as progressing plans to eventually send humans to Mars

The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, blasted off on its highly anticipated maiden test flight.

The rocket was carrying billionaire CEO Elon Musk's red Tesla roadster to an orbit near Mars.

Screams and cheers erupted at Cape Canaveral, Florida as the massive rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the sky.

It took place on the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to the Moon more than four decades ago.

The two side-boosters successfully separated from the centre main-stage rocket and flew back to Earth for safe simultaneous touchdowns on twin launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force station.

The centre booster was expected for a return landing on a drone ship floating at sea, but its fate is not yet known.

The launch had been delayed for more than two hours due to wind-shear conditions.

The successful test launch marked a key turning point in Mr Musk's privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, which stands to gain a new edge over the handful of rivals vying for lucrative contracts with NASA, satellite companies and the US military.

Going along for the ride in a bit of playful cross-promotional space theatre was the sleek red, electric-powered sports car from the assembly line of Musk's other transportation enterprise, Tesla Inc.

The Tesla Roadster is supposed to be sent into a virtually indefinite solar orbit, on a path taking it as far from Earth as Mars.

Adding to the fun, SpaceX has planted a space-suited mannequin in the driver's seat of the convertible.

Whether the car makes it onto its planned trajectory will not become clear for several more hours, SpaceX said.

Propelled by its 27 rocket engines, the Falcon Heavy packs more than 5 million pounds of thrust at launch, roughly three times the force of the Falcon 9 booster that until now has been the workhorse of the SpaceX fleet.

The new heavy-lift rocket is essentially constructed from three Falcon 9s harnessed together side-by-side.

Mr Musk has said that one of the most critical points of the flight would come as the two side boosters separate from the central rocket early in the flight. That occurred seemingly without a hitch.

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