SpaceX is making history, by launching the fourth electric car into outer space today, inside the world's most powerful operating rocket, with the ultimate goal of sending people to Mars.
The Falcon Heavy rocket is built from heavy-lift boosters with a core stage and two of SpaceX's Falcon 9 recoverable rockets and is set to lift a heavier payload than any other rocket since Saturn 5 (the rocket that landed Apollo on the moon). When the Falcon Heavy lifts off, it will be "the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two."
Falcon Heavy’s launch marks the first time a commercial company has designed this large a rocket without government funding. The rocket will allow SpaceX to bid on missions, carrying spy satellites, that are too heavy for the Airforce to launch.
Elon Musk’s cherry red electric Roadster is inside Falcon Heavy test mission, where is his main goal is to get the rocket high enough that explosions don’t damage the launchpad (propellant on the rocket has the same amount of explosive energy as four million pounds of TNT).
To watch the launch head over to SpaceX.com and head over to the New York Times for more details on the Falcon Heavy.