Georgia Fiero Club Forum

General Discussion and Announcements => General Discussion => Topic started by: TopNotch on February 06, 2018, 11:24:43 pm

Title: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: TopNotch on February 06, 2018, 11:24:43 pm

By now you probably know about the test flight of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The first stage of this rocket is 3 Falcon 9 rockets strapped  together, making it the currently most powerful rocket in the world. And you probably know about the cargo -- Elon Musk's red Tesla Roadster, with a dummy in a space suit in the driver's seat.
The plan was to send the car to Mar's orbit, but Elon revealed in a late tweet that it's actually going past Mars to the Asteroid Belt.
Here a couple of pictures... First, the launch...


This picture will give you an idea of the size of the beast. The press was allowed to get close up before the rocket was fueled for launch.

Title: Re: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: GrannyLinda on February 07, 2018, 08:17:33 am

It Appears To Be Giving The Bird.
 :) 

Title: Re: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: GTXVette on February 07, 2018, 10:02:37 am

  Sounds like a Script being written, You Remember V  ger (Star Trek Movie)

Title: Re: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: f85gtron on February 07, 2018, 10:03:56 am

Yes, yes it does appear to be giving the bird!

Title: Re: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: GTRS Fiero on February 07, 2018, 07:11:16 pm

I heard that there is a special message going along for the ride, also.  I don't remember if the message was from Guardians of the Galaxy or what.

Title: Re: Falcon Heavy launches, but the roadster will miss Mars
Post by: TopNotch on February 08, 2018, 10:43:46 pm

When a new rocket is tested, it usually carries a "payload simulator", which means just some concrete blocks or something else to add weight. Elon Musk used one of his cars for the payload simulator, and added several cameras attached to both the car and the 2nd stage (to which the car is still attached. And, of course, a radio transmitter to send pictures and video back to earth. Here's a sample...

Here's the last picture sent. The "starman" is pretty far from Earh here...