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SpaceX's 'Starman' and Its Tesla Roadster Are Now Beyond Mars
Space.com ^ | November 3, 2018 08:00am ET | Mike Wall,

Posted on 11/05/2018 3:35:41 PM PST by BenLurkin

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is a big "Hitchhiker's Guide" fan, as Starman's Roadster shows. The car's entertainment display was programmed to read "Don't Panic!" — the phrase that adorns the cover of the eponymous electronic guidebook in Adams' beloved series.

Musk has said that he launched the Roadster and Starman because the duo is a lot more fun than the typical inert-mass dummy payload... Launching a satellite or other valuable spacecraft wasn't an option, given the risks inherent in maiden flights.

The Roadster and Starman will come within a few hundred thousand kilometers of our planet in 2091, according to an orbit-modeling study. The authors of that study determined that the car will slam into either Venus or Earth, likely within the next few tens of millions of years. They give the space car a 6 percent chance of hitting Earth in the next 1 million years, and a 2.5 percent chance of smacking Venus in that span.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; catastrophism; earth; elonmusk; falcon9; falconheavy; roadster; science; spacex; starman; venus
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1 posted on 11/05/2018 3:35:41 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

So cool!

I wish they still had the camera on.


2 posted on 11/05/2018 3:38:10 PM PST by JPJones (More tariffs, less income tax.)
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To: BenLurkin

Saint Elon shot his load.


3 posted on 11/05/2018 3:38:17 PM PST by Autonomous User (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)
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To: BenLurkin

Advanced scout for President Trump’s Space Force.


4 posted on 11/05/2018 3:41:00 PM PST by Dalberg-Acton
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To: BenLurkin

5 posted on 11/05/2018 3:41:35 PM PST by DannyTN
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To: Autonomous User
Actually, the car crap is ridiculous. Below is something that has far more thought behind it..
6 posted on 11/05/2018 3:44:26 PM PST by C210N (Republicans sign check fronts; 'Rats sign check backs.)
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To: BenLurkin
"Venus or Earth, likely within the next few tens of millions of years. They give the space car a 6 percent chance of hitting Earth in the next 1 million years, and a 2.5 percent chance of smacking Venus in that span."

It never crosses Venus' orbit, that lowers the odds of a collision significantly, doesn't it?

7 posted on 11/05/2018 3:52:22 PM PST by null and void (Leftards don't know what 12000 illegal aliens marching thru Mexico know - America's a Great country!)
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To: BenLurkin; 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; ...
The Roadster and Starman will come within a few hundred thousand kilometers of our planet in 2091, according to an orbit-modeling study. The authors of that study determined that the car will slam into either Venus or Earth, likely within the next few tens of millions of years. They give the space car a 6 percent chance of hitting Earth in the next 1 million years, and a 2.5 percent chance of smacking Venus in that span.
Thanks BenLurkin. Payback's a *****, Venus! ;^)



8 posted on 11/05/2018 3:55:20 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
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To: DannyTN

Someday there will be “space archeologists” tracking down ancient relics ejected into space. Surely Elon’s Roadster will be among the first sought & recovered.


9 posted on 11/05/2018 4:03:03 PM PST by ctdonath2 (The Red Queen wasn't kidding.)
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To: BenLurkin

If they pass by the galaxy Detroit the car won’t make it out with its wheels, console and engine.


10 posted on 11/05/2018 4:03:36 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Always believe women except: clinton rape, ellison assault, booker groping, ted kennedy murder)
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To: C210N

I appreciate the utter uselessness of the car effort. Musk is trolling the universe.


11 posted on 11/05/2018 4:10:01 PM PST by dead (Give everyone in the migrant horde lawnmowers and Mexico will have beautiful grass.)
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To: dead

Musk got tremendous and valuable publicity for his companies by launching his car instead of a block of concrete on the demonstration mission.

Look at this article and thread for instance. People are still talking about it.


12 posted on 11/05/2018 4:14:03 PM PST by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: BenLurkin

*whew* After reading the headline I thought maybe someone snuck in a thread about Planet X/Nibaru...my bad.


13 posted on 11/05/2018 4:14:19 PM PST by Karliner (Jeremiah29:11,Romans8:28 Isa 17, Damascus has fallen)
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To: ctdonath2

Someday there will be “space archeologists” tracking down ancient relics ejected into space. Surely Elon’s Roadster will be among the first sought & recovered.

...

Most likely. Look at some items of the Space Race that have been recovered from the ocean after decades such as the Apollo 11 engines and Grissom’s Mercury capsule.


14 posted on 11/05/2018 4:16:38 PM PST by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: BenLurkin

They give the space car a 6 percent chance of hitting Earth in the next 1 million years.

The impact wipes out man and the insects take over.


15 posted on 11/05/2018 4:22:17 PM PST by minnesota_bound
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To: Moonman62
I know the BBC got rid of Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear but to shoot the Stig into space...


16 posted on 11/05/2018 4:34:02 PM PST by az_gila
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To: BenLurkin

I wonder how much of the car will be left in a few years. Radiation can do wonders.


17 posted on 11/05/2018 5:19:42 PM PST by Dawggie
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To: az_gila

The Brit society is imploding, but some retain their unusual sense of humor: The Stig.


18 posted on 11/05/2018 5:53:45 PM PST by buckalfa (I was so much older then, but I'am younger than that now.)
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To: C210N

“More Chuck Berry!”


19 posted on 11/05/2018 6:29:58 PM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: SunkenCiv
Not live.


20 posted on 11/05/2018 6:39:26 PM PST by Delta 21
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