SpaceX to put Tesla Roadster on board its most powerful rocket
- 6 years ago
TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA — SpaceX is set to launch the world's most powerful rocket into deep space, and with it a most unusual cargo: Elon Musk's own car.
Space reports that the Falcon Heavy rocket features three Falcon 9 engine-cores that are powered by 27 Merlin engines.
The powerful rocket has 2,500 tons of thrust on liftoff, equal to 18 Boeing 747s at full throttle. Its maiden flight is scheduled for late January.
The Falcon Heavy is designed to get large payloads into space, and opens up the possibility of sending manned missions to the moon or Mars. But Instead of putting in concrete or steel blocks to act as mass simulators, the payload will be a red Tesla Roadster.
A lot of risk is associated with the rocket, which could blow up on ascent. If successful, the Tesla Roadster will be sent into Mars orbit, where it will remain for a billion years.
On top of this, SpaceX is also aiming to land and recover all three of the Heavy's first-stage cores.
Space reports that the Falcon Heavy rocket features three Falcon 9 engine-cores that are powered by 27 Merlin engines.
The powerful rocket has 2,500 tons of thrust on liftoff, equal to 18 Boeing 747s at full throttle. Its maiden flight is scheduled for late January.
The Falcon Heavy is designed to get large payloads into space, and opens up the possibility of sending manned missions to the moon or Mars. But Instead of putting in concrete or steel blocks to act as mass simulators, the payload will be a red Tesla Roadster.
A lot of risk is associated with the rocket, which could blow up on ascent. If successful, the Tesla Roadster will be sent into Mars orbit, where it will remain for a billion years.
On top of this, SpaceX is also aiming to land and recover all three of the Heavy's first-stage cores.