Falcon Heavy Rocket

SpaceX

Illustration of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which the company says will be the most capable rocket operating today.

Falcon Heavy Rocket at Liftoff

SpaceX (via YouTube as spacexchannel)

A still from an animation shows what SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket may look like at liftoff. Video uploaded July 26, 2013.

Falcon Heavy Rocket First Stage Burn

SpaceX (via YouTube as spacexchannel)

A still from an animation shows what SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket may look like shortly after liftoff. Video uploaded July 26, 2013.

Falcon Heavy Rocket Heading to Space

SpaceX (via YouTube as spacexchannel)

A still from an animation shows what SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket may look like heading to deep space. Video uploaded July 26, 2013.

Three Falcon 9 Cores

SpaceX (via YouTube as spacexchannel)

A still from an animation shows how SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket incorporates three Falcon 9 cores. Video uploaded July 26, 2013.

Red Dragon: SpaceX may go to Mars

SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX mission concept video shows a Dragon space capsule landing on the surface of Mars. SpaceX's Dragon is a privately built space capsule to carry unmanned payloads, and eventually astronauts, into space. A Falcon Heavy rocket would launch the Red Dragon to space.

'Red Dragon' Mars Sample-Return Mission Concept

NASA Ames Research Center/Red Dragon Internal Study Team

A Red Dragon study team blueprinted a Mars sample-return mission architecture based on the use of SpaceX's Dragon capsule and Falcon Heavy booster.

Officials at Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, and Kennedy Space Center director Robert Cabana are seen together at Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A, which NASA leased to SpaceX for commercial use on April 14, 2014. The Falcon Heavy could launch from this pad.

Aerial View of Launch Pad 39A

NASA

Aerial view of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA has leased to SpaceX use of the historic pad to launch the company's rockets, including the Falcon Heavy, over the next 20 years.