The Only Car in Space
Hey gear-heads, here is yet another interesting read.
Previously, we have witnessed some absurd facts about cars. From them being buried all the way to being burnt, none of these stories is anything that’s out of the world. But, have you ever come across a car that was taken out for a drive into space? You heard me; Space it is!
This story starts with our Hero 'Starman' a dummy who is driving the car in space listening to David Bowie. They were launched to demonstrate the new Space X rocket's payload capacity as far as the orbit of Mars in 2018 February. We all know our buddy Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Space X and Tesla; It is his dream that we are getting to witness - "Falcon Heavy" the rocket. It is the heavy-lift launch manufactured by Space X whose payload capacity was at test. In a press cover once Elon said that the "Falcon Heavy"- carrier will be taking the silliest of things considering the risk factor. A smartypants on Twitter suggested that it should be the Tesla Model S. And, Elon took that suggestion a bit too literal.
It goes without saying that he did send off Tesla into space as the payload. But, it is not Model S, it is Tesla Roadster which was Elon's very own car. This beauty comes in cherry red color and for a fact, the roadster is the first generation highway legal serial production all-electric car with a range of 320Km per charge and 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds. The car in space comes with a bit more personal touch like a "DON'T PANIC!" sign on the dashboard, a copy of Douglas Adams' novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the glovebox, and a message on the vehicle's circuit board that reads "Made on Earth by humans".
So, to the question: How is it working up in space?
Up until now, Roadster and Starman have completed their second lap around the sun. With one orbit taking about 557 earthly days. And, as of today, they are floating away from Mars and its orbit with a speed of 71,351 km/h.
It is anticipated that the car will be out there in space for a while meaning a few million years :P. Also, there is a 6% chance that it can slam into the earth in the next tens of million years. If nothing certain happens, the car will be pretty close to the earth by the year 2091. So, buy yourself a telescope, oops buy your grandchildren a telescope ;)
By the way, the Falcon heavy tested success, and the 2 power boosters used for the launch returned back home safely. Elon says one-day space X might send a spacecraft to catch up with Starman and Roadster to take up pictures. Well, we are waiting….
We hope you all loved this read. For more about Starman and Roadster keep a watch on www.whereisroadster.com and Comment below, let's talk more about this.
Cheers!