Elon Musk has thanked President Trump for his kind words after his SpaceX company successfully launched the world’s most powerful rocket to Mars.
Trump tweeted the PayPal billionaire Tuesday to congratulate him on the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, saying it shows ‘American ingenuity at its best!’
Musk then replied, thanking Trump before adding: ‘An exciting future lies ahead.’
Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to Elon Musk last night after the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket
Musk, one of Trump’s former business advisers, thanked the President while promising ‘an exciting future lies ahead’
Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful operational rocket, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Tuesday
Falcon Heavy is a modified version of SapceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which is capable of blasting objects into space before returning to earth to be used again.
The Heavy variant features two booster rockets on either side of a modified Falcon Heavy core, meaning it can launch heavier payloads deeper into space, before the boosters and main rocket all return.
Tuesday’s launch, which took place at 3.15pm from Cape Canaveral, was a partial success, with both boosters landing in unison.
However, it appears two out of three of the boosters on the core rocket failed as it attempted to land on a drone ship.
This meant the center core missed the ship by around 100m and slammed into the water at 300mph, Musk told Engadget.
‘We have the video,’ Musk said, adding ‘it sounds like some pretty fun footage… if the cameras didn’t get blown up as well.’
Spectators at Cocoa Beach record on their smartphones as the Falcon Heavy rocket launches a Tesla Roadster towards Mars
The Falcon Heavy is a modified version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with two boosters strapped to the sides, allowing it to send heavier payloads deeper into space
The Falcon Heavy’s boosters land in unison having separated from the main rocket, flipped over on the edge of space, then returned to earth
Even with the failed landing, the Falcon Heavy managed to achieve its primary objective, which was to launch a Tesla Roadster towards Mars – complete with a crash dummy behind the wheel and David Bowie on the radio.
Trump is reported to be an admirer of Musk’s mission to colonize other planets, according to an excerpt from Michael Wolff’s book Fire And Fury.
Wolff details a meeting between the two at Trump Tower shortly after the election, in which Musk explained his vision to the President-elect.
‘Musk pitched Trump on the new administration’s joining him in his race to Mars, which Trump jumped at,’ he wrote.
The Tesla owner subsequently joined one of Trump’s business advisory councils, but quit in June after the President announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.