Posted on 12/27/2017 8:11:09 AM PST by Simon Green
As we previously reported, Elon Musk wants to send a Tesla Roadster in space with the maiden launch of his Falcon Heavy rocket. Now we have the pictures to prove it.
Elon Musk's SpaceX company is currently on a roll. Launch after launch, it manages to make space cargo hauling while retrieving and reusing the rockets as something mundane. Perhaps this is why he decided to launch at night, just to remind people how spectacular rocket launches actually are.
But the upcoming Falcon Heavy is another kind of a beast. It's three times more powerful and most likely will be the one that sends the first humans to Mars. For the time being, Musk will settle with sending a Tesla Roadster in space, which, by the way, would be just a fraction of the rocket's 63.8 metric tons capacity.
Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring. Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel. The payload will be an original Tesla Roadster, playing Space Oddity, on a billion year elliptic Mars orbit. Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO
I can hardly wait...
And I always wanted a "flux capacitor" powered one...
Once SpaceX won a round of competitive bidding, ULA dropped their launch invoicing 400 million per launch to stay in the game. ULA held this monopoly position for many-many years prior to competition gaining a foothold against a rigged bidding process.
No one has called for a refund from the Boeing-Lockheed group for over-charging in that time period. Of course, this was a gift to certain Congressional Districts in exchange for vote support in other legislation.
Spank junk.
Unusual place to abandon a car
How about a guy on a surfboard?
“Benson Arizona”
Has Queen Sheila Jackoff Lee demanded her seat yet?
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html
LA Times—best I can do with a quick search..
Heavy Metal! Classic.
Try it again.
Will the constant bombardment of high energy photons keep the battery charged?
Is that a ‘58?
In before the first “Mr. Fusion” pic.
/bingo
Has the EPA released the combined city/highway/solar orbital mileage estimates yet?
I just can’t see that happening.
SpaceX reveals stunning drone footage of its Falcon Heavy ‘megarocket’ on the launch pad
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5232569/SpaceX-reveals-footage-Falcon-Heavy-megarocket.html
SpaceX shows a video flyby of its Falcon Heavy rocket
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/03/spacex-falcon-rocket-video-tour/
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