Later today, SpaceX is expected to test fire the largest rocket it has ever created, Falcon Heavy, ahead of its inaugural test flight later this month.
The test fire is expected to take place between 18:00-00:00 GMT.
This will be the first time that all 27 of its Merlin engines will fire simultaneously and if successful, will mean that the rocket’s first test flight can go ahead some time later in January.
While it can’t compete with NASA’s iconic Saturn V Moon rocket which generated 7.5 million pounds of thrust, Falcon Heavy will take the current top spot as being the rocket able to lift the most amount of cargo into space.
Once fully operational it will have the thrust of 18 Boeing 747 passenger jets and be able to lift the equivalent of a Boeing 737 airliner filled with fuel, luggage and passengers into space.
Despite being one of the most powerful rockets on the planet, Falcon Heavy is at its core a truly efficient rocket.
It is in fact just a single reinforced Falcon 9 central core surrounded by two Falcon 9 boosters.
By reusing SpaceX’s existing designs and technologies Falcon Heavy can still claim to be completely reusable with all three sections capable of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and landing themselves.