SpaceX has successfully launched its first commercial Falcon Heavy flight today.
The megarocket, equipped with the most powerful booster, launched the Arabsat-6A communication satellite into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 6:35pm local time.
The original launch was scheduled on Wednesday but cancelled due to uncooperative weather.
It has been fourteen months since its maiden launch that carried a red Tesla Roadster, and this time Falcon Heavy will be using the upgraded Block 5 hardware, which gives it a 10 per cent boost in maximum thrust over its predecessor, said the company's CEO Elon Musk.
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At the eighth minute after launch, both Falcon Heavy's side booster have accurately landed at SpaceX Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral, not far from the launchpad.
Two minutes later, the core booster, which went higher and farther, set down on the 'Of Course I Still Love You' droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
At the 34th minute, SpaceX has announced the successful deployment of Arabsat-6A satellite, meaning Falcon Heavy has completed its first commercial mission.
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SpaceX has livestreamed the launch on their website as crowds can be heard cheering while witnessing the event.
The additional thrust is claimed to allow the rocket to propel 140,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, nearly three times what the Falcon 9 can lift.
The Saudi Arabian telecommunication satellite will deliver television, radio, Internet and mobile communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
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It will be located at one of Arabsat's orbital positions and will support Arabsat's competitive position as the first operator in the region for satellite capacities and services.
In Falcon Heavy's first launch last year, it carried a spacesuit-wearing mannequin, nicknamed Starman, seated in the driver's seat of a red Roadster built by Musk's car company, Tesla.
It managed to land the two side boosters on Earth but the centre booster missed its mark and crashed into the ocean.
It's said there will be one more Falcon Heavy flight scheduled this year and it will be a mission for the United States Air Force carrying 25 small satellites.
SpaceX has also announced contracts for two Falcon Heavy launches of commercial satellites, and the company has won two competitions to use the rocket for national security missions, reported the New York Times.
