Photos: Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket takes flight

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched today in Cape Canaveral, Florida, a breakthrough for Elon Musks’s space venture. Standing as tall as a 20-story building, the Falcon Heavy is the largest rocket in the world.

Here’s what it looked like:

Eager observers lined up early this morning to get a prime viewing area along the beaches south of Cape Canaveral.

At 3:45, the Falcon Heavy achieved liftoff:

Almost as important as the launch itself was the safe return of the two side boosters to Earth.

Meanwhile, Musk’s Tesla Roadster is hurtling towards Mars’s orbit.