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Summary

Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, with a mannequin driver named Starman, was launched into space as a dummy payload for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy test flight and now orbits the Sun between Earth and Mars.

Abstract

Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster was sent into space as part of the first test launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018. Instead of using traditional steel or concrete blocks as dummy payloads, Musk chose to send his car with a mannequin driver, dubbed Starman, who listens to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and other space-themed music. The car also carries a copy of Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" trilogy. Although initially intended to orbit Mars, the Roadster now follows an elliptical orbit around the Sun, passing between Earth and Mars, and is expected to continue doing so for millions of years before potentially crashing into Venus, Earth, or the Sun. This event marks the first time a standard roadworthy vehicle has been launched into space and has been viewed as both a unique marketing stunt and an addition to the universe's collection of oddities.

Opinions

  • The decision to launch a Tesla Roadster into space instead of traditional dummy payloads is seen as a characteristic move by Elon Musk, blending promotion with a sense of whimsy.
  • The inclusion of pop culture references, such as the Starman mannequin and the choice of music and books, suggests a deliberate effort to make a cultural statement about space exploration.
  • The launch has been perceived as both an innovative brand marketing strategy and an audacious act that pushes the boundaries of what is considered acceptable for space missions.
  • The long-term trajectory of the Roadster, potentially lasting millions of years, adds to the mystique and conversation around space debris and the human legacy in the cosmos.
  • The event has sparked discussions about the implications of private companies' influence on space exploration and the messages they send into the universe.

There’s A Car Cruising Through Space

…including driver and music!

Elon Musk’s own Tesla Roadster in space featuring “Starman”, Earth in the background; image credit: SpaceX, obtained through whereisroadster.com

Ok, just a few days ago I wrote about how you can send a part of yourself to space.

While that’s a cool thing for you and me, it’s far below your dignity when you’re Elon Musk!

Why a car?

A little over 4 years ago, SpaceX’s biggest rocket, the so-called Falcon Heavy, was finally ready to be launched for the first time (after years of delays, which seems to be the way to get any prestigious space project off the ground).

That first launch was simply intended to demonstrate that the rocket worked and was capable of getting the job done. The job being shooting to a certain orbit first and then send something off in the direction of Mars.

But because there was a fair chance the rocket might’ve blown up, the people at SpaceX decided to use a “dummy payload”. Something that has a certain mass but is rather cheap so it doesn’t matter too much if lost.

Usually, big blocks of steel and concrete are used as the stand-ins for actual equipment.

Elon Musk however decided to put his own Tesla Roadster in that place.

And it’s not just the car itself!

It was equipped with a dummy driver in a spacesuit named Starman who would listen to the songs Is there life on Mars? and Space Oddity.

Should someone ever retrieve this car, that person (or alien?) would also find a copy of the Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in the glovebox, as well as Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy on a disc. Even a HotWheels version of the Roadster (including a mini-Starman) was put into the car.

What’s happened to it?

Originally, the plan was to send the car into an orbit around Mars but that didn’t quite work out.

Now, it’s going around the Sun in an irregular orbit somewhere between Earth and Mars.

It was the first standard roadworthy vehicle launched into space.

It has orbited the Sun more than 2.5 times by now.

It’s traveled so far, it would have already driven all of Earth’s roads combined more than 50 times.

If nothing else happens, the Roadster is going to orbit the Sun for the next 10 million or so years and then crash into either Venus, Earth or Sun itself.

Final thoughts

Whether it was cool brand marketing or “the silliest thing” imagineable, as Musk once had tweeted himself, is up to you to decide.

In any case, it’s an addition to the universe’s self-created abundance of oddities.

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Sources:

Illumination
Humanity
Space
Future
Elon Musk
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