Youve probably seen some clips of the Space X launch that took place today already but if not you really did miss something pretty spectacular. The launch was successful though it appears one of the three boosters did not land itself properly. Still, the image of the two boosters landing themselves simultaneously on adjacent landing pads seemed unreal. And then on top of that, there was the cargo for this test launch: Elon Musks own Tesla Roadster with Spaceman at the wheel (actually Space Xs own space suit design). From Space.com:
Standing 23 stories tall, the Falcon Heavy rocket is SpaceXs largest rocket yet and the most powerful booster since NASAs mighty Saturn V moon rocket. Its first stage is powered by three core boosters based on SpaceXs Falcon 9 rockets, with 27 engines (nine per booster) firing in unison to produce about 5 million lbs. of thrust (22,819 kilonewtons) at liftoff
SpaceX has now successfully landed Falcon-family rockets 24 times three on this mission alone. (The rocket family is named after another famously reusable spaceship, the fictional Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, Musk has said.)
But perhaps the biggest draw of todays launch was the Falcon Heavys unique payload: a Tesla Roadster riding atop the rockets second stage.
Musk announced in December that the midnight cherry red convertible, which he owns, would be the first Falcon Heavy payload. Then, on Monday, he revealed another surprise: a spacesuit-clad mannequin called Starman(a reference to David Bowies song Starman) in the drivers seat, with its right hand on the wheel and left arm resting on the door.
So to sum up, Musk sent his car to mars with a driver named for a David Bowie song on a launch vehicle named after a Star Wars spaceship. Not a bad day if youre a nerd who enjoys science and science fiction. The full Space X video is below, but if you only have a moment now, watch this because its incredible:
As mentioned above, it seems the day didnt quite go perfectly. The Verge is reporting that the center core, which was supposed to land out at sea, did not make it.
Though the Falcon Heavys outer cores successfully landed after launch this afternoon, the middle core of SpaceXs huge rocket missed the drone ship where it was supposed to land, a source tells The Verge. SpaceX hasnt yet confirmed this publicly.
Still, Elon Musk is clearly having a very good day today and and who can blame him:
View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O
Only Americans would put a convertible into orbit.
Probably the greatest co-promotional stunt in history.
As great as the flight was, it is unlikely to fly many times. Originally, Falcon 9 was going to launch small satellites, up to 9 tons or so. Then they doubled it. Then they increased it again until the current Falcon 9's can launch payloads almost three times heavier than planned. The Falcon Heavy was supposed to carry a lot of those heavier payloads. So the Falcon 9 is so good that it has cannibalized the potential launches of the Falcon Heavy. Now the Falcon Heavy seems mostly useful for the really big launches like the military spy satellites. But the Pentagon wants to keep their own rockets flying so Falcon can't pick up business with the Falcon Heavy that way.
So Falcon Heavy is a milestone but the future belongs to the next-gen rocket they're developing now. In the meantime, Falcon 9 will supply the steady income to finance Musk's program.
We last saw launches like the one today back in the Sixties and early Seventies, before that godawful "space truck" (the cursed Shuttle) came along and ruined our space program.