The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, blasted off at 3:45 PM local time at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on its highly anticipated maiden test flight. <br/><br/>SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is carrying CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster to an orbit near Mars. The 23-story tall Falcon Heavy was launched from the same site used by NASA's towering Saturn 5 rockets to carry Apollo missions to the moon more than 40 years ago. <br/><br/>The two side-boosters successfully separated from the center main-stage rocket and flew back to Earth for safe simultaneous touchdowns on twin launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. <br/><br/>The center booster was expected for a return landing on a drone ship floating at sea, but its fate is not immediately known.The launch was delayed for more than two hours due to wind-shear conditions.<br/><br/>The successful test launch marked a key turning point in 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.<br/><br/>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 whimsy, SpaceX has planted a space-suited mannequin in the driver's seat of the convertible.<br/><br/>Propelled by 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.<br/><br/>If the demonstration flight succeeds, Falcon Heavy will rank as the world's most powerful existing rocket, with more lift capacity than any US space vehicle since the era of NASA's Saturn 5 rockets that took astronauts to the moon some 45 years ago.

The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, blasted off at 3:45 PM local time at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on its highly anticipated maiden test flight. <br/><br/>SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is carrying CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster to an orbit near Mars. The 23-story tall Falcon Heavy was launched from the same site used by NASA's towering Saturn 5 rockets to carry Apollo missions to the moon more than 40 years ago. <br/><br/>The two side-boosters successfully separated from the center main-stage rocket and flew back to Earth for safe simultaneous touchdowns on twin launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. <br/><br/>The center booster was expected for a return landing on a drone ship floating at sea, but its fate is not immediately known.<br/>'<br/>The launch was delayed for more than two hours due to wind-shear conditions. The successful test launch marked a key turning point in 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.<br/>'<br/>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 whimsy, SpaceX has planted a space-suited mannequin in the driver's seat of the convertible.<br/>'<br/>Propelled by 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.<br/>'<br/>If the demonstration flight succeeds, Falcon Heavy will rank as the world's most powerful existing rocket, with more lift capacity than any US space vehicle since the era of NASA's Saturn 5 rockets that took astronauts to the moon some 45 years ago. <br/>''''<br/>