Musk: Falcon Heavy's center booster hit ocean 'hard,' damaged drone ship

SpaceX's three-core Falcon Heavy rocket fired up the afternoon sky over Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX's newest rocket, the Falcon Heavy, lifted off Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, on its first demonstration flight from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A. CAPE CANAVERAL -- The only blemish in what otherwise appeared to be a flawless debut by SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday was the demise of the first stage's center booster. After the rocket's 3:45 p.m. ET launch from Kennedy Space Center, two side boosters returned safely to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for nearly simultaneous, side-by-side landings that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described as "epic" and one of the most exciting things he's ever seen. But the middle booster missed the "drone ship" that was its landing target and hit the Atlantic Ocean at about 300 mph.