SpaceX's Big New Rocket Blasts Off With Sports Car on Top

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

SpaceX's big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars.

The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today, doubling the liftoff punch of its closest competitor.

The three boosters and 27 engines roared to life at Kennedy Space Center, as thousands watched from surrounding beaches, bridges and roads, jamming the highways in scenes unmatched since NASA's last space shuttle flight. At SpaceX Mission Control in Southern California, employees screamed, whistled and raised pumped fists into the air as the launch commentators called off each milestone.

Two of the boosters— both recycled from previous launches — returned minutes later for simultaneous, side-by-side touchdowns at Cape Canaveral. Sonic booms rumbled across the region with the vertical landings. There was no immediate word on whether the third booster, brand new, made it onto the ocean platform 300 miles offshore.

Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/SpaceX-Falcon-Heavy-First-Launch-472905403.html

[getagrip_already]

1. I saw the lift-off and the return of the boosters....

AWESOME!!!!!

The boosters came back like missiles at supersonic speeds, turned in flight, ignited rockets and landed standing up!

They also showed a cam on the car after the shroud was blown off. "Don't Panic" was displayed on the flatscreen display and apparently david bowies capt tom was playing on an infinite loop, though you obviously couldn't hear it.

Really fun to watch.

[AtheistCrusader]

2. Space Oddity.

Major Tom is Thomas Dolby.

Honestly, they should both be playing on rotation.

[getagrip_already]

9. thanks, misheard it I guess....

cool as hell either way. Love the douglas adams quote.

[AtheistCrusader]

10. There's lots of little easter eggs.

Sharp-eyed observers noticed a little matchbox car on the dash, a Tesla Roadster with a spacesuit in the driver's seat. One of the circuit boards in the car has 'Made on Earth by Humans' etched into it.

He's well on the way toward capturing the imagination of a generation of people.

[RandomAccess]

11. Made me smile:

He's well on the way toward capturing the imagination of a generation of people.

[Tracer]

15. I like the "Don't Panic" sign on the dash!

NT

[MichMary]

26. He should have put a grizzly bear in the front seat

If Evil Alien Conquerors ever think about invading a grizzly would deter them.

[AtheistCrusader]

27. Especially a hairless bear. Holy crap those things are terrifying.

[Dave Starsky]

22. Major Tom (Coming Home) was Peter Schilling.

The song was originally in his native German, but he redid it with English lyrics and it became a smash hit.

[AtheistCrusader]

25. Dang. I missed too. Thanks for the correction!

[Dave Starsky]

31. I probably would have thought the same thing.

I get Thomas Dolby mixed up with Howard Jones all the time. It's hard to keep all those '80s synth poppers straight.

[Ohiogal]

3. Just wondering ...

Why the red sports car?

[JI7]

5. Tesla

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. it was Musk's own Tesla

and it produces a great image.

[TexasTowelie]

7. It's a Tesla Roadster.

Tesla and SpaceX are both headed by Elon Musk.

[AtheistCrusader]

8. Because whimsy matters.

Normally NASA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS and others would just use a plain old block of concrete, since the probability the rocket would explode is insanely high.

This was a show of faith by Elon to his team, to their plan and mission, as well as a beacon for others.

Whimsy... Matters.

[More_Cowbell]

4. That's Musk's Tesla

I have this running on a side monitor so I can see when there's something in the view

https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/06/watch-the-live-feed-from-spacexs-roadster-driving-starman-in-space/

[uppityperson]

12. A Tesla, with a copy of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and a towel

[sarcasmo]

13. The return of the boosters was Bad A$$.

[Nitram]

14. What a waste of energy and capital. Why not send something into space that will collect useful

data of some kind? Wouldn't cost more than a Tesla. Damned expensive advertising.

[MosheFeingold]

17. Tend to agree

The story was they weren't sure it would work, so they didn't want to risk losing a real payload.

[Nitram]

18. Losing a real payload wouldn't cost more than a brand new Tesla.

Or was it just the body?

[MosheFeingold]

20. Maybe

I thought real satellites and whatnot rang in in the $100s of millions.

A used Tesla? Looking on eBay, resale sucks.

[Nitram]

21. I'm sure an affordable experiment could be put together that would not cost that much.

Measure radiation exposure needed to plan a Mars mission.

[alarimer]

16. Stupid and pointless stunt

I hate Elon Musk. He gets millions in federal subsidies for pointless bullshit like this. To say nothing of using government built and maintained facilities for his stunts.

[Nitram]

19. Agree.

[LanternWaste]

23. I'm confident your post is neither stupid nor pointless

I'm confident your post is neither stupid nor pointless, regardless of its appearance.

[alarimer]

24. What has this guy EVER done except make himself rich?

These new space companies rely on technology and facilities developed with OUR money, yet none of us will actually benefit from this. This is not "space exploration" but a prelude to exploitation on behalf of mega corporations. Meanwhil, "sheeple" ooh and ahh over this.

[Egnever]

29. That is crazy talk

What has he done? He has pushed the entire car industry to take electric cars seriously. He has with this launch made a sea change in rocket launching. He has pushed solar power to thousands of people through solar city.

He is moving us forward with almost all of his ventures. The idea he has done nothing is ridiculous.

[alarimer]

35. I will not EVER lionize a billionaire who treats his employees like shit

Who is yet another socially incompetent libertarian moron.

[hunter]

28. Good grief... this was a lot more entertaining than most any military spending I can think of.

Maybe we should have giant military parade for our fearless leader instead!

Musk is actually pushing this technology forward in very useful ways. The choreography of the two boosters landing side by side was splendid, Ray Bradbury science fiction brought to life.

Shit, if I was an engineer I'd much rather be putting a Tesla roadster in space than putting lipstick and wings on some pig like the F-35.

I'm as skeptical as they come about manned space flight and solar energy projects, I don't think humans will ever have any significant presence in space beyond low earth orbit, but the Falcon Heavy Lifter is literally the biggest thing since the Saturn V carried men to the moon. My grandfather was one of the Apollo engineers who accomplished that pointless stunt, creating bits of metal that took men to the moon and back. It was by far the work he was most proud of, even though he'd been an Army Air Corp officer in World War II. The way he told it, defeating Nazis was just a dirty job that needed to be done. Landing men on the moon was a glorious adventure.

[Ferrets are Cool]

30. +1

[truthisfreedom]

34. Look into it more. Dont jump to conclusions or believe the haters.

He’s going to save us money. He’s already recycling boosters. This launch used two recycled boosters and they’re going to be recycled again. This has NEVER been done before.

[scipan]

32. you gotta watch this landing! rocket ballet

[Thyla]

33. That was amazing

The implications of this successfully working are huge. Yesterday was a very important day for science and long may it continue.