Falcon Heavy Launch

SpaceX is test launching its Falcon Heavy rocket, the first ever launch of the new heavy-lift orbital rocket. The Heavy’s thrust is generated by its 27 Merlin engines, which is three times the number of engines you’d find in the current Falcon 9 rocket.

That amounts to over 5 million pounds of thrust, and a total cargo capacity of around 119,000 pounds. That gives it more than double the total freight moving power of its next closest competitor. In fact, the last active rocket with a greater payload capacity was NASA’s Saturn V rocket, which flew its last mission in 1973.

It won’t be carrying anything all that heavy this time around, however – the payload for this first test launch is a Tesla Roadster, loaded up with a dummy wearing SpaceX suit for its planned Dragon crew missions, and destined for a large, elliptical Mars orbit.