Elon Musk is a fascinating figure, acting as the CEO and lead designer at SpaceX in addition to heading a number of other companies including Tesla, Neuralink, and others. Today, SpaceX will launch of their unmanned rocket, Falcon Heavy, into Earth’s atmosphere for the first time. As told by CNN, if the launch is successful, Falcon Heavy “will become the world’s most powerful operational rocket. … With its 27 engines, the rocket will give off a thrust equal to 18 Boeing 747 jetliners … [and] will be capable of sending humans to the moon or Mars.” The launch is planned for 1:30 p.m. EST.
According to The Verge, if the multi-stage launch is successful, the Falcon Heavy’s final booster will split in half and release its payload–a Tesla Roadster–into space on a hyperbolic route toward Mars (and beyond) at around seven miles per second. As Musk claimed in a tweet back in December, the Tesla “will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.
Elon Musk also said in the tweet that the Roadster’s stereo would play David Bowie‘s “Space Oddity” as it makes its way toward a Mars orbit. Yesterday, ahead of the launch of the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX released an animation of the anticipated launch backed by Bowie’s “Life On Mars?” You can watch the animated video below:
[Video: SpaceX]
While no sounds can be heard in the vacuum of outer space regardless, there’s something satisfying about knowing that SpaceX’s Mars-bound car will be blasting David Bowie as it flies through the solar system. The Starman would be proud…
[H/T Pitchfork]