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Elon Musk To Launch His Roadster and Dummy Into Space Tomorrow

It’s been a long seven years since Falcon Heavy was announced, but tomorrow it’s going to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket in the world boasting three core rockets, each with a set of 9 engines. That’s 27 in all and more than any other working rocket has ever used. Together they produce more than 5 million pounds worth of thrust allowing it to carry 140,000 pounds worth of cargo into low Earth orbit. Not only this, but it can do it at a fraction of the price of NASA’s equivalent.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/960366295362494464

 

It costs a mere $90 million per flight, compared to NASA’s Delta IV Heavy which runs about $350 million per flight. This could mean big business to NASA for obvious reasons.

The flight tomorrow is purely for demonstration purposes, with the aim simply being not to blow up. Hence why the cargo is Elon Musk’s own Tesla Roadster with a dummy in the passenger seat dressed in a brand spanking new Space X spacesuit. It’s one hell of a marketing move!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BezcvpzAgYI/

Falcon Heavy will be planting the car in an orbit around the Sun called the Hohmann transfer orbit. It will orbit at around the same distance from the sun as Mars, but not to worry, they’re not going to collide!

Those eagle eyed viewers may notice a small figurine on the dash of the space-ready Roadster. It’s a smaller model of the Roadster with a small model of the dummy riding it. We’re not quite sure what that’s for. Maybe to keep the dummy company? Who knows.

We will keep you covered on the launch tomorrow and wish Elon and his team the best of luck.

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