Blast-off for the Musk rocket you can recycle

THE world’s most powerful rocket has been launched into orbit by Elon Musk.

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy blasted into the sky in the early hours of yesterday carrying a Saudi communication satellite – the space exploration firm’s first paying customer.

SpaceX has already launched single Falcon 9 rockets – but its new Falcon Heavy is effectively three of these joined together.

Eight minutes after its latest liftoff from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, SpaceX landed two of the firststage boosters back at Cape Canaveral, upright and side by side, ushering in the age of the recycled rocket. The core booster then landed two minutes later on a platform hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic Ocean.

A triumphant Musk, pictured, tweeted: ‘The Falcons have landed.’

The Falcon Heavy, which cost about £120million to launch, soared from the space centre using the same pad that shot Apollo astronauts to the moon half a century ago. Nearby beaches and prime viewing spots were packed with those eager to catch not just the launch but the rare return of twin boosters, heralded by sonic booms. Before SpaceX pursued recyclable boosters, other launches had seen the discarded parts dumped in the ocean, rendering them useless. Musk’s company aims to drive down costs by using its rocket parts again and again. The billionaire’s ultimate goal is to use the Falcon Heavy to land on Mars within seven years. He claims he has a ‘70 per cent chance’ of being on board such a mission but admits he could die en route – and if he survives, it might only be a one-way journey. Yesterday’s launch comes a year after Musk put his own Tesla convertible on the initial test flight. The red Roadster – with a mannequin at the wheel – remains in orbit. The first Falcon 9 launch ended in a fireball, while the second landed before tipping over and exploding.