In what may be the greatest car commercial of all time, SpaceX has released a video portraying the journey of the mannequin Starman and Elon Musk’s red Tesla Roadster riding the Falcon Heavy rocket through space. SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket currently in use, on February 6, 2018 from Cape Canaveral as hundreds of thousands of people gathered from around the world to witness a part of history. The Roadster, which is attached to the rocket’s upper stage, will now be subjected to intense radiation in the Van Allen belt zone beyond Earth’s atmosphere before being launched into an elliptical orbit around Mars.
As majestic as he is now, Starman was very nearly trapped on Earth as launch day conditions forced hours-long delays. Even after the rocket ignited on the planetary surface, those involved were apprehensive. “If it goes, don’t clap,” Jeff Lucas, a NASA communications staffer, told the launch audience, according to the Guardian. “Don’t clap until you see those orange flames clearing the tower.” When it became clear that the rocket had launched successfully, David Bowie’s Life on Mars began to play at the SpaceX launch center.
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While some critics have questioned the value of hitching a car to the world’s most powerful rocket, the now-iconic images speak for themselves. The fact that the Falcon Heavy was strong enough to allow for the extra weight of a car, simply for the fun of it, is further demonstration of the rocket’s power. “If we are successful, it’s game over for other operators of heavy-lift rockets,” said Musk prior to launch, according to the Guardian. Though the game is still far from over, Starman is a hero, not just for one day, but for the foreseeable future. Oh man, I wonder if he’ll ever know…
Via The Guardian
Images via SpaceX
