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Elon Musk Shows Off the Tesla Roadster That SpaceX Will Send Beyond Mars (theverge.com)
Elon Musk has released photos of the Tesla Roadster he plans to send to space via a Falcon Heavy rocket. "The series of photos, posted to Instagram, show the Roadster attached to a fitting and placed between the two halves of the payload fairing that caps the rocket," reports The Verge. "The photos were posted just hours after a picture leaked on Reddit that showed a grainy view of the car being readied for its final ride." From the report: This will be the inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy, a rocket that SpaceX has been planning for years. The successor to the Falcon 9 , it's essentially (and simply put) three boosters strapped together, all of which will add enough thrust to make it the most powerful rocket in the world. It will give SpaceX the ability to send bigger payloads to space while also helping the company push farther out into the Solar System. But SpaceX doesn't want to put a valuable payload on the very first flight, which even Musk has admitted could end (or begin) with an explosion. So the company plans to use a "dummy payload" instead. "Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring," Musk wrote on Instagram today. "Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel."
Naturally with a chicken game like the space gas station in Leisure Suit Larry.
I'm worried that Elon Musk is overloading himself. I'm extremely impressed with his accomplishments, but I think he doesn't give himself enough rest.
Of course, if the Heavy does not make it to orbit, the Roadster may end up swimming with the fishes (which might also be interesting).
...were clandestinely building a means to soft-land the car on its wheels on the planet. Even funnier if they landed it in the pathway of one of the rovers...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
It is rather iconic after all
http://agentpalmer.com/wp-cont...
School project payload or Celestis space burial payload
like they did for the first few Falcon 1 launches.
Source:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/12/spacex-50-taming-falcon-1-achieving-cadence-falcon-9/
Phosgene makes us feel, too. Send up a few hundred tanks!!!
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
I fully get why he is doing this. I just think that someone somewhere has a worthwhile payload that they have but they otherwise couldn't afford to pay to boost.
Worst case is a cache of supplies to park in Martian orbit for the next time Matt Damon is stuck there and the Home Depot he used last time is closed.
Needs more cowbell.
Get a lot of stuffed cows and put them into orbit.
Akin to his moon made of cheese, this can be the "Herd shot 'round the world".
AC
I hope the transmit real time from all cameras on the Roadster!
They should put on some kind or propellant tanks on the car, and launch it into space and target the moon.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
I am wondering what all they stripped out out of the car for its journey. I would think they would not risk the launch by leaving in things like the battery packs, brake fluid, electrolytic capacitors, etc.
...that every great endeavor accomplished my great men throughout history was almost always accompanied by a symphony of neigh-saying from pathetic, small minded losers. For it was that the anti-Musk brigade were not worthy to lick the sweat from his glorious balls. Amen.
I keep thinking about the movie Heavy Metal. The part where the astronaut is driving a Corvette in space. Musk is too cool!
Honestly, that's my question: Why should anyone not employed by him give a damn about Elon Musk and/or his toys?
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Why not non perishable foodstuffs as well. Cheap in they blow up. Invaluable if they could get to mars
Space Litter
I'd hope if they could land on Mars, that that would at least do the landing like the Corvette in Heavy Metal.
I'm sure Musk could come up with a Loc-Nar somewhere... :)
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
Very cool, but I thought they specifically chose payloads like brick or concrete because they don't shift around much and cause undo motion inside the rocket.? Can't imagine a car would be a good idea but I think it's funny
Why the HE double hockey sticks would you send a car into outer space. This is the dumbest idea ever.
This is the dumbest possible thing that they could do. They need some cheap mass on their rocket; and this mass might be able to get into Martian orbit.
They should send a couple thousand pounds of water. The containers to store it are are already 'off the shelf' inasmuch as we already are capable of rapidly producing a flight-tested design for holding water in space for a long period of time. And by chance if the thing makes it, a large quantity of water floating around mars would be an incredibly valuable and useful commodity
Space is fake. The Earth is flat. The eclipses prove it.
No. Just no. NASA is not the CIA. They don't pull that sort of thing. But let's pretend yes.
Q: How does it affect your life?
A: Not at all.
And to all who post that he could shoot up something more valuable, like a university science project - did you read that they usually do these tests with blocks of cement or such? You just never complained about that because it wasn't on /.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
The Telsa Roadster mass is about 1400 kg, isn't it ? This seems way too light for a payload simulator. The mass of the Soyouz is above 7000 kg, a loaded Dragon is about 10000 kg, and the Orion is close to 25000 kg !
So this only makes sense if they also add a "boring" (but useful) dummy payload along it.
Justifying an accident when such an irrelevant frivolity is involved would be quite difficult. Personally, I am pretty much the opposite of a show-off, although don't mind taking risks/bringing things further as a way to accomplish something really worthy. I don't even care about (or/or feel a bit sorry for and/or make fun of) people behaving ostentatiously.
Combining both unnecessary ostentation and unnecessary risk seems particularly difficult to defend. I seriously hope that nothing goes wrong, but I would expect a fair reaction (from clients, public opinion, authorities) otherwise. Kind of my motto: feel free to do whatever you want, but better be ready for the consequences.
Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
Nothing I've seen so far indicates the Falcon Heavy will replace the Falcon 9. A Falcon Heavy is far too large for most payloads: a Falcon 9 can launch most payloads and still have enough margin to land the first stage (and soon, the fairing).
FH will be used for those payloads that an F9 could only launch in expendable mode. There might be some US military/national security payloads that are too heavy for F9 altogether. Plus the occasional interplanetary mission, perhaps.
I'm impressed with what you said. I agree with "courage and conviction" and "character, perseverance, and faith".
I haven't seen "constant vicious, destructive, vile attacks on his character". I have seen people evaluate his chances based on the idea that he is an average person, and an average person would fail at what he attempts.
I hope that Elon Musk will be especially caring toward himself. Sometimes I get the impression he pushes himself too much.
Not valuable payload, dummy, terribly boring, my step mother seems a good fit. Wanna her as first payload?
second to the right, and straight on till morning
100 million miles on one tank of gas!