Falcon Heavy, the rocket from Elon Musk's Space X company, has been successfully launched.
It is one of the most powerful rockets in the world, comparable to the mythical Saturn V in charge of transporting the Apollo ships that took the first astronauts to the Moon.
Falcon Heavy has the ability to lift into orbit a weight greater than that of a 737 aircraft loaded with passengers and fuel, and its take-off force is equivalent to that of 18 747 aircraft.
The two lateral thrusters returned to Cape Canaveral 7 minutes and 58 seconds after takeoff. Meanwhile, the upper stage of the rocket continued its journey towards the orbit of Mars.
Starman, floating in the sky
Elon Musk's rocket carried a very particular payload: it put the Tesla Roadster into orbit, boarded by a mannequin named Starman. On the launch live, David Bowie's Space Oddity could be heard as the soundtrack.
But more importantly, Falcon Heavy restores the ability to send manned missions to Mars. With the launch success, Elon Musk's company is one step closer to achieving it.
At that point, Space X will have to place a charged rocket 400 million kilometers from Earth.
