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.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of