Elon Musk sends car on ultimate road trip
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars.
The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today, doubling the liftoff punch of its closest competitor.
The three boosters and 27 engines roared to life at Kennedy Space Center as thousands jammed surrounding beaches, bridges and roads to watch the rocket soar, delayed more than two hours by high wind.
Two of the boosters were recycled and programmed to return for a simultaneous touchdown at Cape Canaveral, while the third, brand new, set its sights on an ocean platform some 480 km offshore.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk owns the rocketing Tesla Roadster, which is shooting for a solar orbit that will reach all the way to Mars. As head of the electric carmaker Tesla, he combined his passions to add a dramatic flair to the Heavy’s long-awaited inaugural flight. Typical ballast for a rocket debut: concrete or steel slabs, or experiments.
On the eve of the flight, Musk told reporters the company had done all it could to maximize success and he was at peace with whatever happens: success, “one big boom” or some other calamity. The longer the flight, he noted, the more the company would learn from the heavily instrumented rocket.
Musk has plenty of experience with rocket accidents, from his original Falcon 1 test flights to his Falcon 9s, one of which exploded during a 2016 ignition test. The Falcon Heavy is a combination of three Falcon 9s, the rocket that the company uses to ship supplies to the International Space Station and lift satellites. Spacex is reusing firststage boosters to save on launch costs. The Heavy is intended for massive satellites, like those used by the U.S. military and major-league communication companies.
Given the high stakes and high drama, Tuesday’s launch attracted huge crowds not seen since NASA’s last space shuttle flight seven years ago.
Not counting Apollo moon buggies, the Roadster is the first automobile to speed right off the planet.