SpaceX fires up its biggest rocket, paving way for a test flight

SpaceX fired up its newest, biggest rocket in a critical launch pad test on Wednesday, advancing toward a long-anticipated test flight possibly in just a week. The Falcon Heavy briefly roared to life for the first time at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. All three boosters – 27 engines in all – were tested. The thunderous booms could be heard at the press site three miles away, as huge white clouds of engine exhaust billowed into a clear blue sky. Everything appeared normal: the 230ft (70-meter) rocket stood tall and brilliantly white after the test on the historic pad once used by Nasa’s Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles. More

(Source: The Guardian - Jan 25)