Falcon Heavy: A Sportscar in Space

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about SpaceX’s impressive technology demonstration by launching a Falcon Heavy for the first time into space. The rocket transported a Tesla Roadster sportscar which now orbits around the Sun.

Last Tuesday at 2045 GMT, SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy for the first time into space. The maiden flight transported a very special payload at first into an orbit around the Earth and later on into an orbit around the Sun that almost extends to the orbit of Mars: a Tesla Roadster driven by a mannequin wearing a spacesuit developed by SpaceX. Normally, those demonstration flights only transport a block of concrete into space, but Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, decided to launch something fun to inspire people all around the world and get them excited.

The gigantic rocket is the most powerful space launch system since the Saturn V used to launch Apollo crews to the Moon. At liftoff, the Falcon Heavy had a mass of roughly 1,420 metric tons and left the historic launch pad 39A with nearly 5 million pounds of thrust. The thrust provided by the 27 Merlin main engines was about two-thirds the power of a space shuttle at launch.

The Falcon Heavy rocket basically consisted of three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together. The two strap-on boosters returned back to Cape Canaveral after being jettisoned during the ascent. They performed a synchronous landing with only a few hundred meters separating them. Personally, I found this moment just epic and inspiring. The core stage was programmed to land on an uncrewed barge in the Atlantic ocean but unfortunately ran out of igniter fluid and crashed into the sea only a short distance away from the ship.

The webcast covering the launch already ended about ten minutes after liftoff and the successful orbit insertion of the Tesla sportscar. Shortly afterwards, SpaceX started another stream showing footage from various cameras installed around the Roadster. The images of the mannequin sitting inside of the car in front of the Earth were just mindblowing and hilarious at the same time. „Don’t Panic!“ After about six hours in Earth orbit, the upper stage’s engine was ignited again and propelled the car into an orbit around the Sun.

In the end, SpaceX has opened a new market for super-heavy payloads and paved the way for more advanced and potentially even crewed missions to Mars. Well done!