SpaceX has successfully completed its first launch of the world's most powerful commercial rocket.
It marks a successful beginning to CEO Elon Musk's most ambitious project yet.
Park Soyun reports.
Elon Musk and his SpaceX company took a giant leap forward for the space industry on Tuesday, launching the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen.
Carrying a cherry red Tesla Roadster, Falcon Heavy took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, local time.
A mannequin wearing a SpaceX spacesuit was strapped inside the car.
The two side boosters detached and headed back to Earth about two and a half minutes after the launch.
Thousands of people gathered at the space center to witness the moment, the culmination of a five-year plan.
SpaceX used the Falcon Heavy -- standing more than 21 stories tall -- to send the vehicle into orbit using technology with twice the launching power of any existing rocket.
The Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9 rockets joined together... boasting 27 engines, and the rocket creates a combined 2.3 million kilograms of thrust, the equivalent of about 18 Boeing 747s at take off.
Space X says the rocket will one day be used to send humans to Mars.
If this voyage is successful, it could raise interesting possibilities for future innovation including larger U.S. satellites and the launching of hundreds of satellites into space to give broader internet access to the developing world.
This development also gives rise to a huge improvement in space exploration, and will enable Musk to fulfill his dream of sending people and larger robots to the Red Planet.
Experts say the launch will open up a world of opportunities and marks a huge step forward for the rocket industry.
Park Soyun, Arirang News.