Tourist Snaps Sneak Peek of SpaceX Falcon Heavy Payload Fairing in Florida

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A lucky visitor to NASA's Kennedy Space Center snapped a photo of the payload container that will fly aboard SpaceX's new megarocket, the Falcon Heavy.

Twitter user Emiliano C. Diaz de Leon was on a tour bus at the NASA center when he photographed the Falcon Heavy payload fairing being moved inside a building, Inverse has reported. The container will sit atop the Falcon Heavy on the rocket's maiden flight, which is scheduled to take place sometime in January.

SpaceX's founder and CEO Elon Musk posted pictures on Twitter that show his midnight cherry Tesla Roadster being loaded into the fairing. He also said on Twitter that the payload will be shot into a Mars orbit, but the company has not revealed additional details about the payload's trajectory.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's midnight cherry red Tesla Roadster, which will be launched into space on the first Falcon Heavy rocket test flight, is seen before encapsulation inside its protective payload fairing. SpaceX's debut Falcon Heavy rocket will launch in January 2018. (Image credit: SpaceX)

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Staff Writer