SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch: Tesla Roadster in space, but it’s going beyond Mars

SpaceX successfully launched the world's most powerful rocket Falcon Heavy on its first test flight. Falcon Heavy also carried a special payload: a red coloured Tesla Roadster, which is now going beyond the planet Mars.

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SpaceX successfully launched the world’s most powerful rocket Falcon Heavy, which carried a special payload: a red coloured Tesla Roadster, which is now going beyond the planet Mars. (Image source: Elon Musk/Twitter)

SpaceX successfully launched the world’s most powerful rocket Falcon Heavy on its first test flight. Falcon Heavy also carried a special payload: a red coloured Tesla Roadster, which is now going beyond the planet Mars. Elon Musk CEO and founder has shared images of the Tesla Roadster currently floating in Earth’s orbit. SpaceX also posted four hour live video on the space progress of the Tesla Roadster.

However, Roadster’s space journey has turned out differently than what was expected. The Tesla Roadster is a mock payload, which SpaceX has sent out into space and was supposed to head to Mars orbit. It was launched on top of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. Musk tweeted saying the rocket had exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid belt, which is between Mars and the planet Jupiter. Musk also tweeted a map of the Tesla Roadster’s travel into space.

The Roadster also has a space-suited mannequin in the driver’s seat. The ‘Starman’ as the mannequin is named is a tribute to the late singer David Bowie’s famous song Space Odyssey. Musk has said the spacesuit “may be discovered by some future alien race,” and confirmed that a real space-suit was used for the purpose.

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The success of Falcon Heavy is a major feat for SpaceX. The Falcon Heavy is the world’s most powerful rocket, and in fact its launch took place from the same landing pads where NASA’s Apollo moon missions began. According to SpaceX, Falcon 9 which is composed of nine-engine cores with 27 Merlin engines altogether can generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The rocket is capable of carrying around 64 metric tons (141,000 lb) into the orbit. The advantage with SpaceX is that its Falcon Heavy can do this at one-third the cost as other rockets with such capabilities. SpaceX has used the technology from its Falcon 9 rockets to build this bigger Falcon Heavy.

Check out Elon Musk’s tweets below

Third burn successful. Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt. pic.twitter.com/bKhRN73WHF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2018

Live view of Starman https://t.co/gvSlztlE6l

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018

Currently over Australia 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/HAya3E6OEJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018

What is special about the Falcon Heavy is that has been designed to carry humans into space. Elon Musk has long argued that humans will need to move beyond Earth and is keen on exploring the idea of colonising Mars. Musk argues humans will need to become an interplanetary species in order to survive. Falcon Heavy is nearly 70 metre tall or around 229.6 feet. It has a mass of 1,420,788 kg and total width of 12.2 m or 39.9 feet.