Are you ready for the big one?
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, will attempt the debut launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket at 3:45 pm ET today, a delay of more than an hour to wait for better wind conditions in the upper atmosphere. Below, you can watch all the action as the enormous rocket attempts to launch a Tesla roadster into orbit around Mars, while returning all three booster stages back to earth for future reuse:
Also check out the five different areas that Musk, who is also SpaceX’s lead designer, says present the highest risk of failure for the new rocket.
The Falcon Heavy represents the next step in SpaceX’s march to conquer the market for space access. After successfully delivering satellites and cargo to orbits around earth, and in the midst of the company’s plans to fly humans to the International Space Station, this rocket is a first attempt to disrupt deep space.