I watched SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launch Elon Musk's car into space - here's what it was like near the launchpad

Thom Baur/Reuters

There is nothing like seeing a rocket launch toward space in person, and the first flight of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy was no exception.

As a space reporter, I've see a handful of space shuttles and a Mars robot leave Earth, but Falcon Heavy's maiden flight blew them all away.

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SpaceX gave me access to cover its demonstration mission, which successfully launched company founder Elon Musk's red Tesla Roadster toward Mars with a spacesuit-clad "Starman" dummy and three cameras inside.

Here's what it was like to witness the spectacle of Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center, including a post-launch press conference with Musk.