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IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration

SpaceX will fire up the most powerful rocket in the world on January 16

• https://www.yahoo.com, Trevor Mogg

Should the procedure go according to plan, we could be just weeks away from witnessing the Falcon Heavy set off on its maiden mission all the way to Mars.

Reusable rocket system

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets with a single upper stage, and in terms of power is beaten only by the Saturn V rocket that once took astronauts to the moon. Incorporating SpaceX's tried-and-tested reusable rocket system, the Heavy's various separation processes are designed to take place soon after launch, with all three boosters landing back on Earth.

But SpaceX CEO Elon Musk knows that if Tuesday's test proves successful, the debut mission that would follow soon after is a monumental challenge, noting last year that there's "a real good chance" the unmanned Falcon Heavy won't even make it into orbit.

If it does all go to plan, the rocket will be taking Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster all the way to the red planet, where the CEO claims it could remain in orbit for a billion years. Musk earlier said he wanted to send "the silliest thing we can imagine," adding that he loved the thought of a car "drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future."


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