Which rocket made its first flight in 2018 carrying Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster?

Falcon Heavy made its first flight in 2018 carrying Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster.

SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy test flight from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on 6 February 2018. The rocket used a central Falcon 9 core together with two refurbished Falcon 9 first-stage boosters, creating a heavy-lift vehicle with 27 Merlin engines at liftoff.

The demonstration payload was a red Tesla Roadster, with a mannequin nicknamed “Starman” in the driver’s seat. The two side boosters landed successfully, while the center core missed its drone ship landing attempt.

Falcon Heavy is not simply a larger single rocket engine. It is a combination of three Falcon 9-derived cores, and its performance depends on whether the boosters are recovered. The rocket has since launched commercial, military and scientific payloads, including NASA’s Psyche spacecraft in 2023.