SpaceX’s most powerful rocket is launching in a landmark mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

It marks only the fourth take-off for the Falcon Heavy, its first in more than three years, and sees it fitted with three Falcon 9 boosters.

The boosters, which regularly launch on their own to carry SpaceX‘s Starlink satellites up into orbit, are needed to provide their bigger brother with the necessary thrust to reach the stars.

Watch the launch live here from 1.30pm UK time.

In the payload for the USSF-44 mission from Florida’s Cape Canaveral are two US Space Force craft, including a microsatellite dubbed TETRA-1, which has been created for “various prototype missions”.

The other craft being carried is classified.

Problems with getting the payload ready had delayed the launch multiple times – it was originally scheduled to take place back in 2020.

How the launch will play out

SpaceX is targeting a launch at 9.41am local time (1.41pm UK).

Conditions were favourable ahead of the rearranged take-off date, with blue skies greeting the rocket as it rolled towards launch pad 39A on Monday.

Just over a minute after launch, we will reach the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket – shortly after, its two side boosters will have their engines cut and separate from the main rocket.

Both will land at SpaceX’s landing zones at Cape Canaveral around eight minutes after launch.

The main rocket will have left Earth’s atmosphere by then, before the payload separates.

SpaceX boss Elon Musk retweeted a picture of the rocket being readied, ahead of the company’s most significant launch until next month’s planned Starship mission.

The company is hoping to launch the massive rocket system into orbit for the first time in December – a pivotal demonstration as it aims to fly NASA astronauts to the moon in the coming years.

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