BBC News has a fantastic video of the whole thing at Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy rocket launches successfully.
Wall Street Journal - SpaceX Launches World’s Biggest Rocket
Blastoff caps years of delay, $1 billion in investment for firm founded by Elon Musk.
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. PHOTO: CRISTOBAL HERRERA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOC
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. successfully launched the Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday on its initial test flight, marking another coup for founder Elon Musk.
The blastoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center attracted throngs of spectators and was closely followed by the global aerospace industry. It capped multiple design changes, years of delays and a roughly $1 billion investment by SpaceX, as the company is commonly called.
The closely held Southern California company defied industry critics by flying the world’s most powerful rocket—carrying a Tesla roadster as a dummy payload and publicity stunt—since U.S. astronauts landed on the moon almost five decades ago.
The 230-foot rocket, which featured 27 engines with the combined thrust of some 18 Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jets, climbed into clear skies at 3:45 p.m local time amid an enormous orange plume and thunderous vibrations. The launch countdown had been delayed for about two hours because of winds.
The rocket’s two side boosters shut down, then separated as expected less than three minutes into the flight. All other systems worked as designed, apparently without any significant problems, and the cover protecting the payload separated precisely on cue.
A Tesla Roadster being prepped for its trip aboard the Falcon Heavy rocket. The car went up with the rocket on Tuesday. PHOTO: ELON MUSK/INSTAGRAM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Everything you could want in a test flight,” said one of the narrators on the company’s video of the launch.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
