Falcon Heavy lifts off from SLC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.

On Tuesday, February 6th, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket on its inaugural flight from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful launch vehicle currently in operation and is advertised as a more efficient alternative to other high-power vehicles in its class, such as the Delta 4 Heavy.  

SpaceX intends to use this rocket to send large payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO ) and possibly deliver drones to Mars to prepare for future manned expeditions. The stack, or composition, of the rocket is essentially three smaller Falcon 9 rocket cores strapped together.

The three Falcon 9 cores that comprise the Falcon Heavy have a combined 27 Merlin engines.

As a test payload for the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sent up his Midnight Cherry Tesla Roadster with a dummy inside wearing an experimental SpaceX spacesuit. The car was playing David Bowie’s Life On Mars? as it traveled along an orbit which will eventually intercept the red planet.

An image of Starman and his Tesla roadster in orbit.