A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.

(AP Photo/John Raoux)

At a Glance

The Falcon Heavy had only launched three times before.Two boosters came back to Earth at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.Four successive sonic booms were heard in the area.

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletterto get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

S​paceX successfully launched a massive Falcon Heavy rocket, followed by a rare double booster landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday morning.

Spectators lined beaches in near-perfect weather conditions.

Liftoff was at 9:41 a.m. EDT with the about eight minutes later. The official 45th Weather Squadron said weather was 90% go.

L​aunches are often scrubbed due to or last-minute technical glitches.

(MORE: NASA Launches UFO Investigation)

T​he Falcon Heavy is derived from SpaceX's familiar Falcon 9, which launches regularly from Kennedy Space Center. The heavy version is made up of three Falcon 9 cores totaling 27 engines and is the currently in operation, according to SpaceX. The thrust generated at liftoff is equal to about 18 large 747 airplanes.

R​eusable boosters are a hallmark of SpaceX launches. Typically, they land on a ship offshore but are sometimes brought directly to land. In this case, two of the boosters will come down in an unusual double landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, adjacent to the space center on Florida's East Coast.

Four in a row were heard in the area as the boosters hurtled back to Earth. The third booster was set to fall into the ocean.

(MORE:See The Pillars Of Creation As Captured By NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope)

P​revious launches of the Falcon Heavy happened in February 2018, and . Payloads have included a Tesla Roadster and NOAA weather satellites. This time, the rocket is carrying several payloads for the U.S. Space Force.

Hurricane Ian backed up several launches at Kennedy Space Center, including the moon rocket mission. That's now currently scheduled for liftoff on Nov. 14.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .