“SpaceX’s most difficult launch yet proved to be as complicated as CEO Elon Musk predicted.

“After a picture-perfect nighttime launch went off without a hitch, the Falcon Heavy was on its way. However, the center core booster, which was poised to return to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic, missed its mark and crashed into the ocean early in the mission.

“It wasn’t all bad news: SpaceX demonstrated the first reuse and landing of the Heavy’s two side rocket boosters.

“The world’s most powerful rocket launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in the dead of night, lifting off at 2:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in a dazzling flurry of flame, cutting a trail through the dark.

“The rideshare mission, known as STP-2, carried 24 satellites into orbit for a handful of different contractors, including the Department of Defense, in addition to NASA, universities and the Planetary Society.”

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