Watch the Live Launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, the Rocket That Might Take Us to Mars

It's been a long road for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Since plans of its development were first announced in 2011, the project has seen numerous setbacks. Now, the super-sized rocket is finally set to lift off today, February 6, and anyone with an internet connection can watch it in real time.

If it works, Falcon Heavy will make history as the world's most powerful rocket in operation. In what amounts to three of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, the rocket boasts 27 engines capable of transporting almost 64 metric tons (141,000 pounds) of payload past Earth's atmosphere.

There's a reason no other rocket has been built with that kind of firepower: All those engines need to work in sync in order to produce the 5 million pounds of thrust that will lift the load off the ground. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has emphasized that the risk of failure is high, even though everything went according to plan in the engine test-fire.

The success of today's launch would change the future of space travel. A rocket capable of carrying such heavy loads could be used to eventually send supplies, habitat modules, and people to Mars. In the short term, it would make shooting heavier satellites into orbit a possibility.

The only extra cargo Falcon Heavy is carrying today is Elon Musk's Tesla roadster. If all goes as planned, the rocket will launch the car into the Hohmann transfer orbit around the sun, which is about equivalent to the distance from our planet to Mars.

Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida today, February 6, between 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET. You can catch the livestream of the event at SpaceX's official YouTube channel.

[h/t The Verge]