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SpaceX launches mega rocket year after debut with sports car

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX has launched its second supersized rocket from Florida, a year after sending up a sports car on the initial test flight.

The new and improved Falcon Heavy blasted off Thursday evening with a communication satellite called Arabsat — the rocket's first paying customer. The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket in use today.

SpaceX aims to land two of the first-stage boosters back at Cape Canaveral, just like it did for the rocket's debut last year. The core booster is shooting for an ocean platform. That's the only part of the first mission that missed.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk put his own Tesla convertible on last year's demo. The red Roadster — with a mannequin at the wheel — remains in a solar orbit stretching just past Mars.