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Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster with Earth in the background
Operator	SpaceX
Manufacturer	Tesla
Instrument type	Inert mass Broadcast device
Function	Boilerplate payload
Website	spacex.com
Properties
Mass	≈1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Host spacecraft
Launch date	February 6, 2018
Rocket	Falcon Heavy
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
COSPAR ID	2018-017A
Orbit	Heliocentric Perihelion: 0.98 AU Aphelion: 1.67 AU Inclination: 1.05° Orbital period: 1.53 year

Entrepreneur Elon Musk's first generation Tesla Roadster is an electric car that he selected as "something fun and without irreplaceable sentimental value" to be launched into space on the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket. It was launched on February 6, 2018 as part of the boilerplate, or dummy payload, on the Falcon Heavy Demonstration Mission. The car and rocket were both manufactured by companies founded or directed by Musk: the car was built by Tesla while the rocket was built by SpaceX. Musk's Roadster is the first consumer car sent into space, it had previously been used by Musk to commute to work around Los Angeles.

The car was launched with sufficient velocity to escape the Earth and enter an elliptical heliocentric orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars, reaching an aphelion (maximum distance from the Sun) of 1.67 AU. During the early portion of its voyage it functioned as a broadcast device, sending live video back to Earth for slightly over four hours.

Objective

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Musk said the launch of the new Falcon Heavy vehicle was risky, and that it would carry the "silliest thing we can imagine". He tweeted on December 1, 2017 that the payload he had hinted at in March was the car. Musk and SpaceX employees later said the intention to use the car was not a joke. On December 22, Musk published pictures of the car taken before payload encapsulation. The car was installed at an inclined position above the payload adapter in order to account for the mass distribution.

The purpose of launching a large heavy object, traditionally concrete blocks, on the maiden flight was to demonstrate that the Falcon Heavy can launch payloads as far as the orbit of Mars. For the 2010 launch of the SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1, a wheel of cheese was used as ballast, though it was not revealed immediately after the flight, because Musk did not want the whimsical payload to overshadow the space launch itself in the news coverage.

A license for the launch was issued by the US Office of Commercial Space Transportation on February 2, 2018.

This launcher demonstration makes the Roadster the first consumer car sent into space. Three manned rovers were sent to space on the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions in the 1970s and these vehicles were left on the Moon. The Roadster is one of two formerly manned vehicles (albeit not a manned space vehicle) derelict in solar orbit, joining LM-4 Snoopy, Apollo 10's lunar module ascent stage.

Roadster payload

The first-generation Tesla Roadster is an all-electric sports car. Tesla delivered approximately 2,450 Roadsters worldwide between February 2008 and December 2012. The midnight cherry Roadster launched into space is one of Elon Musk's privately owned vehicles. Musk said in a 2012 interview that the Roadster was "the one I drive to work".

A number of symbolic and whimsical objects were put in the Roadster. Positioned in the driver's seat is "Starman", a full-scale human mannequin named after the David Bowie song "Starman" and clad in SpaceX's pressure spacesuit. He has his right hand on the steering wheel and left elbow resting on the open window sill. The car's sound system was looping the Bowie songs "Space Oddity" and "Life on Mars?"; even though no human can hear sound in space, it was intended as a symbolic gesture.

There is a copy of Douglas Adams' 1979 novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the glovebox, along with a towel (a reference to the book) and a sign on the dashboard that reads "Don't Panic!" (another reference to the book). The payload also includes a Hot Wheels miniature Roadster with a miniature Starman, a plaque bearing the names of the employees who worked on the project, a message on the vehicle's circuit board stating that it was "Made on Earth by humans", and a copy of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series on a laser optical quartz storage device (Arch 5D disk) created by the Arch Mission Foundation.

Launch

The car was launched aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 15:45 EST (20:45 UTC) on February 6, 2018, and initially placed in Earth parking orbit while still attached to the Falcon Heavy second stage. After a longer-than-usual six-hour coast phase through the Van Allen radiation belts, thereby demonstrating a new capability requested by the U.S. Air Force for direct geostationary orbit (GEO) insertion of heavy intelligence satellites, the second stage reignited for the Earth-escape trajectory.

SpaceX streamed a video feed on YouTube, starting at the rocket's launch, showing the Roadster and the mannequin from three cameras mounted inside the car, and from cameras on booms on the outside. SpaceX did not say how long the feed was to run, and Musk had said the car's battery would last for about twelve hours, but the live stream actually ran for just over four hours. The video and images were released by SpaceX into the public domain.

Following the launch, the payload was given the USSPACECOM Satellite Catalog Number of 43205 with a description of "Tesla Roadster/Falcon SH" along with the COSPAR International Designator of 2018-017A.

Orbit

The car was launched into an elliptical orbit around the Sun that will cross the orbit of Mars and reach a distance of 1.70 AU from the Sun. The trajectory was not designed to intercept Mars, so the car will not fly by Mars nor enter an orbit around Mars.

Even if the launch targeted an actual Mars transfer orbit, neither the car nor the Falcon Heavy upper stage is designed to function in deep space, lacking the propulsion, maneuvering, power, and communications capabilities required to operate in interplanetary space or enter Mars' orbit. The purpose of launching the Roadster into this heliocentric orbit is to demonstrate that the Falcon Heavy can launch payloads that could reach Mars. It is moving away from Earth at a speed of 12,908 km/h (8,021 mph)

Based on optical observations made using a robotic telescope at the Warrumbungle Observatory, Dubbo, Australia and refinement of the orbit, a close re-encounter with Earth (originally predicted for 2073) is not possible. In 2020, the car will pass about 6.9 million kilometers (4.3 million miles) from Mars, well outside Mars' gravitational sphere of influence.

The Virtual Telescope Project observed the Tesla two days after its launch, where it had a magnitude of 15.5, comparable to Pluto's moon Charon.

Future

Musk said the car could drift in space for a billion years. Indiana University chemist William Carroll said that solar radiation, cosmic radiation, and micrometeoroid impacts will structurally damage the car over time. Radiation will eventually break down organic material and anything with carbon–carbon bonds, such as carbon fiber parts. Tires, paint, plastic and leather might last only about a year, while carbon fiber parts will last considerably longer. Eventually, only the aluminum frame, inert metals, and glass not shattered by meteoroids will remain.

Reactions

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After the launch, The Guardian said the choice to launch a car was a "nerd-baiting publicity stunt" without "any real point beyond generating good press pics", which should not detract from the much more important technological milestone represented by the launch of the rocket itself. Scientific American said using a car was not entirely pointless, in the sense that something of that size and weight was necessary for a meaningful test, and that "Thematically, it was a perfect fit" to use the Tesla car, and there was no reason not to take the opportunity to remind the auto industry that Musk was challenging the status quo in that arena, as well as in space.

Lori Garver, a former NASA deputy director said the choice of payload for the Falcon Heavy maiden flight is a gimmick and a loss of opportunity to further advance science. Science writer Mark Kaufman said that Musk's orbiting car was "sensationalized" and a "grotesque show of wealth", as well as a missed opportunity to collect some minimal astronomical data by attaching cheap instrumentation to some basic platform instead of a mere car, albeit a very expensive car, it was no more space junk than the mundane boilerplate normally used to test rockets, which is deliberately placed either in a graveyard orbit or a deep space trajectory, where it is not a hazard, as in the case of this Falcon Heavy test.

Orbital-debris expert Darren McKnight said that since the car is out of Earth orbit, he sees no risk here, but "The enthusiasm and interest that he generates more than offsets the infinitesimally small 'littering' of the cosmos." Hugh Lewis, an expert in space debris at the University of Southampton, said that it is "a PR stunt that adds dangerous junk to our solar system and shows how little he cares about space debris."

See also

• List of artificial objects in heliocentric orbit
• Humanity Star

References

1. There's a Starman Waiting in the Sky SatTrackCam Leiden (b)log. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
2. "Falcon Heavy Demonstration Press Kit" (PDF). SpaceX. February 2018.
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4. ^ Harwood, William (February 8, 2017). "'Starman' puts Earth in the rearview mirror". Spaceflight Now (originally writtern for CBS NEWS).
5. ^ Live Views of Starman – via YouTube.
6. Musk, Elon (March 31, 2017), "Considering trying to bring upper stage back on Falcon Heavy demo... [tweet thread]", Twitter
7. "Elon Musk says SpaceX will try to launch his Tesla Roadster on new heavy-lift rocket". Space Flight Now.
8. Malik, Tariq (December 1, 2017). "Elon Musk Will Launch His Tesla Roadster to Mars on SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket". Space.com.
9. "Falcon Heavy's Debut Flight Payload: A Tesla Roadster". Aviation Week & Space Technology. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
10. Knapp, Alex (December 22, 2017). "Elon Musk Shows Off Photos of a Tesla Roadster Getting Prepped to Go to Mars". Forbes. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
11. Mosher, Dave (February 9, 2018), "Launching Elon Musk's car toward Mars was a backup plan — here's what SpaceX actually wanted to do with Falcon Heavy's first flight", Business Insider
12. Hennigan, W. J. (9 December 2010). "SpaceX's 'secret' payload? A wheel of cheese". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
13. ^ Wong, Kenneth; Office of Commercial Space Transportation (February 2, 2018). License Number: LLS 18-107 (PDF) (Report). Archived from on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018. Space Exploration Technologies is authorized … flight of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) transporting the modified Tesla Roadster (mass simulator) to a hyperbolic orbit {{cite report}}: Check |url= value (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. "The First Car in Space". December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
15. "The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle". NASA. November 15, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
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19. Musk, Elon (December 1, 2017). "Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster" (Tweet). Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Twitter.
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30. "Falcon Heavy Test Flight". YouTube. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
31. Gartenberg, Chaim. "The Falcon Heavy test flight included a copy of Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels". The Verge.
32. "Home". Arch Mission.
33. Brinkmann & Santana. "SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch live coverage: Liftoff successful". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
34. Berger, Eric. "Elon Musk says the Falcon Heavy has a 50-50 chance of success". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
35. Gebhardt, Chris. "SpaceX set to debut Falcon Heavy in demonstration launch from KSC – NASASpaceFlight.com". NASAspaceflight.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
36. Boyle, Alan (February 6, 2018). "Elon Musk explains why SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is risky – and revolutionary". GeekWire. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
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41. ^ Plait, Phil. "Elon Musk: On the Roadster to Mars". Syfy Wire. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
42. Where is Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster?. A web site tracking the car's position in orbit. February 2018.
43. Langbroek, Marco; Starr, Peter (February 9, 2018). "Starman (Falcon Heavy/Tesla Roadster) 2018-017A imaged in Space". Retrieved February 9, 2018. images were taken, 16:39-16:50 UT on 8 February 2018 … distance of 550 000 km or about 1.4 Lunar distances c.q. 0.0037 AU … 30-second exposures taken by Peter Starr and me with the 0.43-m F6.8 remote robotic telescope of Dubbo Observatory in Australia … 2073 close encounter … is no longer on the table.
44. Elon Musk's Tesla overshot Mars' orbit, but it won't reach the asteroid belt as claimed. Loren Grush, The Verge. 8 February 2018.
45. Masi, Gianluca (February 28, 2018). "Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster imaged and filmed!". virtualtelescope.eu. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
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47. Hern, Alex (February 7, 2018), "Forget the car in space: why Elon Musk's reusable rockets are more than a publicity stunt; The onboard Tesla Roadster grabbed the headlines, but the real success of this week's space adventure was the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle", The Guardian
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52. What you need to know about SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch. Conor Dillon, Deutsche Welle - Science. 6 February 2017.

External links

• Views of Starman on YouTube
• Photographic animation of Roadster moving across the sky, at Wikimedia Commons
• Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster at the Internet Movie Cars Database
• Where is the Roadster?, website tracking distances of the Tesla Roadster

v t e Elon Musk
Main	Awards and honors Filmography Legal affairs Tornetta v. Musk, et al. Views Wealth
Companies	Zip2 X.com PayPal SpaceX (Starlink) Tesla, Inc. Tesla Energy criticism TSLAQ lawsuits OpenAI Neuralink The Boring Company Boring test tunnel SolarCity Thud X Corp. Twitter, Inc. Twitter Twitter under Elon Musk Acquisition of Twitter Twitter Files December 2022 suspensions Block in Brazil xAI
Depictions	Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (2015) "The Musk Who Fell to Earth" (2015) The Space Barons (2018) Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors (2019) "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty" (2019) Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century (2021) Return to Space (2022) Elon Musk's Crash Course (2022) Elon Musk (2023)
People	Musk family Maye Musk (mother) Kimbal Musk (brother) Tosca Musk (sister) Joshua N. Haldeman (grandfather) Lyndon Rive (cousin) Justine Musk (first wife) Talulah Riley (second wife) Grimes (partner) Shivon Zilis (partner)
Related	America PAC Astra Nova School Billionaire space race Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster ElonJet Hyperloop RBG PAC Snailbrook, Texas Texas Institute of Technology and Science
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