The world’s most powerful rocket blasted off on Wednesday, with Space X claiming a mostly successful test launch for its Falcon Heavy rocket. Aboard the demonstration flight, a cherry red Roadster built by electric carmaker Tesla. The car is expected to travel around the sun in endless ellipses that extend as far out as the orbit of Mars.

Musk, who heads up SpaceX and Tesla, said that his creation is the most “powerful operational rocket in the world, by a factor of two”.

With 27 engines, the Falcon Heavy is capable of lifting 140,000 pounds into low Earth orbit.

Two of its boosters detached from the ship, landing upright in perfect synchronisationand safely back on Earth, further proving the viability of reusable rocket parts (which can reduce the cost of space travel). A third booster failed to land on a drone ship.

Release and photo SpaceX