SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket with 24 experimental satellites

SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying 24 experimental satellites.

Getting the devices to their intended orbits was expected to take hours and require some complicated maneuvering.

Elon Musk's rocket company called it one of the most difficult launches it has attempted.

Lift off occurred at 2:30 am ET.

SpaceX's customer for this mission, dubbed STP-2, is the US Department of Defense, a key customer that commercial companies such as SpaceX rely on for lucrative launch contracts.

After a three-hour delay from the original launch time late Monday. The boosters separated safely and the craft began its six-hour mission to deploy the satellites.

The mission was a third one for the Falcon heavy rocket, described as the most powerful launch system in the world.

This mission was coordinated by the Defense Department, but the satellites that flew atop Falcon Heavy came from a range of agencies and organizations, including NASA, military research laboratories, and universities.

They included a satellite that will test new telescope technologies, and one that hosts a futuristic atomic clock. Another is a science nerd's dream — a solar sail project that has been centuries in the making. It's funded by The Planetary Society, a nonprofit headed by Bill Nye.