SpaceX prepared yesterday for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, capable of reaching the moon or Mars some day.
The launch, scheduled for 1:30pm from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is the most ambitious yet for SpaceX, and has been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race.
“NASA may decide to use it [the Falcon Heavy] as a way of fast-tracking its plans to get to the moon and Mars,” said Erik Seedhouse, assistant professor of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Photo: AFP
The launch is a “huge deal, even for a spaceflight company that routinely accomplishes huge deals,” said Jason Davis of the Planetary Society, describing the Falcon Heavy as “mythical.”
No people are on board, just a mannequin wearing a futuristic spacesuit, strapped into CEO Elon Musk’s very own cherry red Tesla car.
“Starman in a Red Roadster,” Musk posted on Instagram on Monday, showing the rocket’s payload on a pedestal, aiming skyward.
Musk has also said that David Bowie’s hit Space Oddity would play in the vehicle during the launch.
An animated video released by SpaceX to preview the launch showed all three rocket boosters returning to upright landings on Earth, while the car and mannequin emerged from the protective nose cone and sailed into orbit.
The car is destined for an elliptical orbit around the sun, taking it into the vicinity of Mars.
“At times, it will come extremely close to Mars, and there is a tiny, tiny chance that it will hit Mars,” Musk told reporters. “Extremely tiny.”
Musk reiterated his warning that the maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy — a project he unveiled in 2011 — might fail or even explode on the launchpad.
“I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn’t blow the pad to smithereens,” he said.
There is also a chance the Tesla might not make it beyond low Earth orbit. First it has to go through the violent Van Allen belt, where it will be pummeled by charged particles for about six hours.
“It is going to get whacked pretty hard,” Musk said.
Even if there were a disaster, Seedhouse said it was unlikely to harm the reputation of SpaceX — already a top cargo supplier to the International Space Station with a US$1.6 billion contract with NASA and busy with a steady stream of satellite clients and government payloads.
“Last year, they had more launches than any other country in the world — never mind any other company,” Seedhouse said.
“Every failure they have had they have bounced straight back,” he said.
The Falcon Heavy is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets in one, with a total of 27 Merlin engines.
These engines “together generate more than 5 million pounds [2.3 million kilograms] of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately 18 747 aircraft,” SpaceX said.
The 70m-tall rocket is designed to carry nearly 64 tonnes into orbit, more than the mass of a fully loaded 737 jetliner. Although SpaceX has said the Falcon Heavy was “designed from the outset to carry humans into space and restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the moon or Mars,” the plans for it to one day carry people appear to have changed.
Musk said another massive rocket under development, called BFR — short for “Big Fucking Rocket” — might be the one to transport crew, while Falcon Heavy might be reserved for equipment.
In any case, when the Falcon Heavy lifts off, “it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two,” SpaceX said.
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