Elon Musk to launch Tesla Roadster into space on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday
Scheduled for lift off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 1:30pm
Elon Musk will launch a red Tesla Roadster into space on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday, the Tesla CEO has revealed.
Scheduled for lift-off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 1:30pm, the launch is expected to witness "the most powerful operational rocket" with a goal to one day reach the planet of Mars.
Musk posted an image of his car fixed to a part of the rocket with a dummy figure at the wheel on social media site Instagram (embedded below), stating it is ready for launch on Tuesday 6 February.
A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Feb 4, 2018 at 9:50pm PST
The SpaceX CEO used the platform to boast of the launch and how easy it will be to watch from a public space.
"Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on Feb 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway," he said.
Having been rescheduled numerous times since 2013, it is hoped the launch will be the world's most powerful of its kind, featuring a vehicle and targeting an unprecedented level of re-usability. If it proves to be a success, Musk says we will be one step closer to his goal of launching a manned Mars mission within the next decade.
Musk doesn't seem so optimistic, however.
"I hope it makes it far enough from the pad that it does not cause pad damage. I would consider that a win," stated the normally optimistic entrepreneur.
According to the SpaceX website, the Falcon Heavy is 70m long and could carry up to 37,000 pounds of cargo as well as crew to Mars. It has also been reported that the car-rocket will be playing the song "Starman" by David Bowie when it's fired into space. How apt.