SpaceX has announced that is has completed first-stage testing on the Falcon Heavy, its new heavy-lift rocket.

The Falcon Heavy has been touted as a crucial element of CEO Elon Musk's ambitious plan to reuse rockets that can fly crew as far away as Mars.

In a tweet, the company said that three first-stage cores have completed their testing, and published a video showing one test in progress. A first-stage core is the section of a rocket that launches and propels it into space.

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According to the SpaceX website, Falcon Heavy could carry up to 37,000 pounds of cargo and crew to the red planet.

It is viewed as an upgrade on the Falcon 9 rocket which has made several trips to space since it first launched in 2012.

"Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost," the site claimed.