Watch Again: SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launches From Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL — SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday afternoon from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending a Tesla Roadster into space. Visitors queued up to see the event were told to expect either a great rocket launch or "the best fireworks display they've ever seen," according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's own admission. As it turns out, what visitors saw was a rocket launch.

The launch window opened at 1:30 p.m. (eastern time), with a backup launch scheduled for Wednesday. The launch time was delayed and the rocket took off at 3:45 p.m. The launch was delayed due to upper level wind shear, SpaceX said.

"When Falcon Heavy lifts off, it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two, with the ability to lift more than twice the payload of the next vehicle, at one-third the cost," SpaceX said in a press release announcing the launch. "Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit."

Tuesday's test launch is the rocket's inaugural flight. SpaceX says that Falcon Heavy's three cores are capable of generating more than 5 million pounds of thrust.

The launch wasn't without its risks, and Musk acknowledged that there are things that could go wrong.

"It'd be a real huge downer if it blows up," Musk said during a teleconference discussing the launch, according to Space.com. "If something goes wrong, hopefully it goes wrong far into the mission, so we at least learn as much as possible along the way … I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

In an interview with CNN, Musk said the people who have come from all over the world will either see a great rocket launch or the best fireworks display they've ever seen.

Per The New York Times, Musk put the chances of a complete success at one-half to two-thirds. The launch is important as it will allow the company to bid on missions for the Air Force and could be useful to NASA for launching larger space probes, the Times notes.

NASA signed a 20-year property agreement with SpaceX for the use and operation of its launch pad in 2014.

View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/elonmusk/s... 6, 2018

You can watch the launch on Patch below.

Photo: A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket stands ready for launch on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. The Falcon Heavy scheduled to launch Tuesday afternoon, has three first-stage boosters, strapped together with 27 engines in all. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)