With a monstrous roar of engines, the most powerful rocket to leave Earth since the Apollo missions launched successfully from Florida last night.
The Falcon Heavy jumbo rocket, developed by the flamboyant SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, had a sole ‘passenger’ onboard – a mannequin named ‘Starman’ – who rode to space inside a Tesla roadster.
Incredible footage has emerged from inside the car showing stunning views of our planet sailing past its windscreen as David Bowie’s Life on Mars plays in the background.
Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400million km) journey to Mars’ orbit, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch.
But Musk has admitted the dummy is heading further into the solar system than planned because SpaceX overcooked one of the Falcon Heavy’s powerful booster burns.
The new trajectory has put the cherry red Roadster on a journey into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Despite Starman’s failure to reach the red planet, Musk has said the ‘silly and fun’ mission was a success because it will ‘get people excited around the world’.
The billionaire has previously said it was ‘extremely unlikely’ the car would reach Mars.
Cosmic radiation will gradually tear the car apart over millions of years, with the Roadster’s seat leather and plastics expected to fall apart in the next year provided the vehicle avoids collisions with space junk and meteors.
SpaceX’s ‘Starman’ dummy launched into space yesterday on the maiden voyage of the Falcon Heavy rocket, the world’s most powerful rocket
Viewers were left with video images beamed from space of Musk’s red Roadster circling the blue planet after the protective covering had dropped away and exposed the car.
In the middle of the car, on the centre screen, are the words ‘Don’t Panic’ – a reference to the book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,’ about an accidental space traveller, Arthur Dent.
‘It’s kind of silly and fun, but I think that silly and fun things are important,’ said Musk, who is CEO of both SpaceX and electric car firm Tesla.
‘The imagery of it is something that’s going to get people excited around the world.’
Despite the rocket launch’s success, it ultimately missed the target set by Musk before the big day.
The billionaire tweeted about the error after launch, writing: ‘Third burn successful. Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt.’
Two of the boosters – both recycled from previous launches – returned minutes after lift-off for on-the-mark touchdowns at Cape Canaveral. Sonic booms rumbled across the region with the vertical landings.
However, the craft’s central booster missed its target – a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean – by about 328 feet (100 metres).
In a press conference after the historic launch, Musk said early reports show the rocket ‘hit the water at 300 miles per hour [480kph] and sprayed the drone ship with shrapnel’.
In the middle of the car, on the center screen, are the words ‘Don’t Panic.’ This a reference to ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,’ the 1979 book that was first in a series by Douglas Adams about an accidental space traveler, Arthur Dent. In the story, the Guide has the words ‘Don’t Panic’ on its cover
Soon after the launch, Elon Musk tweeted a live feed of the car, and its driver – a dummy named Starman (after the David Bowie song) – with Earth in the background
Images released by SpaceX last week showed Musk’s original Tesla Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appeared to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket made its maiden flight. When Musk first posed the idea, most people assumed he was joking
Rumours had already surfaced that the central core had missed its target after SpaceX cut its live video feed of the autonomous drone ship, named ‘Of Course I Still Love You’, minutes before the booster was due to land.
Musk said the landing failed after just one of core’s three engines re-lit for the landing burn, causing it to crash into the surface of the ocean.
Musk told reporters there were no plans to re-use the centre booster, even if it had been recovered.
The Tesla was used as a ‘mass simulator’ to test how the rocket’s flight fared while carrying a payload. Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. Musk said in December that these simulator ‘seem extremely boring’
Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400m km) journey to Mars’ orbit, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. A series of live camera feeds gave viewers stunning views of Earth
Musk admitted SpaceX overshot the Falcon Heavy’s third booster burn, sending Starman (green line) beyond the orbit of Mars and further into the solar system than was originally planned
SpaceX has failed to align the Tesla with Mars’ orbit after it overcooked one of its boosters, instead sending the Roadster on a journey into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
With the car’s trajectory now ‘off-script’, it’s unclear what will happen to the vehicle. Before the Falcon Heavy launched, Musk said there was only a small chance that his Tesla would ever reach Mars
SpaceX has not confirmed whether the car’s new trajectory means it is likely to hit a different planet. Planetary scientists on Twitter have asked the firm for its cargo’s exact orbit to calculate the Tesla’s odds of collision
SpaceX technicians are overheard saying ‘we lost the centre core’ in a clip of live video taken during launch at the firm’s Mission Control centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Despite the central booster malfunction, the firm did manage to complete the remarkable feat of landing the Falcon Heavy’s other two reusable boosters simultaneously.
Stunning video from yesterday’s launch shows the twin boosters returning to Cape Canaveral in a synchronised landing.
The massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, carrying Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla roadster on board.
The rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below. Hundreds gathered to watch the historic event at Cape Canaveral, Florida
Spectators at Cocoa Beach, Florida, look up in amazement at the Falcon Heavy launch yesterday
SpaceX’s successful Falcon Heavy launch might have been impressive, but the firm lost one of the enormous rocket’s reusable boosters, CEO Elon Musk has confirmed. Pictured is the rocket as it launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, yesterday
The Falcon Heavy launched with three reusable rocket cores that were supposed to return to Earth, but the craft’s central booster missed its target – a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean – by about 328 feet (100 metres). The drone ship, dubbed ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ (pictured in 2015), has previously been used by SpaceX to successfully land Falcon 9 rockets
Just over three minutes into the launch, the side boosters detached from the rocket and launch operators confirmed the rocket was on the right trajectory.
After shedding from the core section of the rocket, the two reusable side boosters landed seamlessly back on Earth about eight minutes into the launch.
The rocket appeared to have successfully jettisoned its third and final core, but SpaceX’s live stream cut out before it landed, with the firm later confirming it had lost the booster.
In an incredible accomplishment, the Falcon Heavy’s side boosters landed smoothly back down to Earth on two separate launchpads about eight minutes in. ‘The Falcons have landed’ the announcers said, as people cheered and whooped wildly in the background
Today’s successful launch marked the maiden flight of what’s now the most powerful operational rocket in the world.
‘You’ve heard the call out – vehicle is supersonic’ the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below.
‘The Falcons have landed’ the announcers said, as onlookers cheered and whooped wildly in the background.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy megarocket finally blasted off from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, carrying Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster yesterday
In a statement, SpaceX said: ‘It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy.’
‘Everything that you could want in a test flight – we got here,’ the team said.
A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy, dubbed Starman, behind the wheel on its journey to Mars.
And, as promised, David Bowie’s 1969 hit could be heard playing in the background.
The Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off on Tuesday afternoon. It can be seen above soaring high over the Cape Canaveral site. ‘You’ve heard the call out – vehicle is supersonic’ the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below
After leaving Earth, the Roadster and its passenger ‘Star Man’ are now off to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. The dummy and the car can be seen above far above Earth following today’s successful launch
If all goes according to plan, the rocket will carry Elon Musk’s 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster – blasting David Bowie’s hit Space Oddity – to an Earth-Mars orbit around the sun.
‘Upper stage restart nominal, apogee raised to 7000km,’ Musk tweeted shortly after the launch.
‘Will spend 5 hours getting zapped in Van Allen belts & then attempt final burn for Mars.’
After pushing back the launch time twice today due to wind speeds, the massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, just before the launch window was set to close. Above, a view of the main module can be seen just after the side boosters split off
The SpaceX team confirmed immediately after launch that the massive rocket was operating according to plan. Just minutes later, it prepared for its side boosters to split off from the central core, as seen above
The SpaceX CEO also shared an update on Starman’s journey beyond Earth.
‘View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth,’ Musk quipped.
After five years of setbacks, the massive rocket capable of achieving a thrust equivalent to more than 18 Boeing 747 jetliners finally took its maiden flight today.
According to Musk, it will take roughly six months for the car to complete the more than 200 million mile journey to reach the red planet.
And, it’s expected to remain in orbit for about a billion years.
A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy behind the wheel on its journey to Mars. Displayed on the dashboard display, the firm has written: Don’t Panic
Ahead of the launch today, Musk released a stunning animation revealing how the plan would work.
The billionaire SpaceX CEO said the firm’s Falcon Heavy spacecraft will carry his Roadster on a billion-year journey through space ‘if it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces’.
A video posted to Musk’s Instagram account shows how the huge rocket will lift off from Florida in its first ever test flight today.
The craft’s three reusable cores will separate from the main module, containing Musk’s car, after launch and return to Earth, the animation shows.
Elon Musk’s Roadster and its solitary passenger, the mannequin ‘Starman,’ can be seen soaring through the sky after the Falcon Heavy launched today. They’re now on their way to Mars
Now that the Tesla Roadster has been launched, it will carry out a 200 million mile journey to Earth-Mars orbit. Its path is illustrated in the graphic above. It will continue to circle this path, theoretically, for billions of years, Musk says
Once beyond Earth’s orbit, the main module will break apart, leaving the roadster and its passenger, a mannequin Musk has named ‘Star Man’, to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space.
Musk assured spectators that cameras on the vehicle will provide ‘epic views’ as it travels to Mars.
Most new rockets carry concrete or steel blocks on test flights to simulate the weight of a real payload, but Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has previously said that this method is ‘extremely boring’, adding that SpaceX decided to send Musk’s car as it was ‘something unusual, something that made us feel.’
In yesterday’s Instagram post, Musk wrote: ‘Falcon Heavy launches to Mars orbit tomorrow.
‘If it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces, it will carry Starman in Roadster over 400 million km from Earth at 11 km/sec on a billion year journey through deep space.’
SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars
HOW DOES THE FALCON HEAVY MEASURE UP?
Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet)
Stages: Two
Boosters: Two
Re-usable Cores: Three
Engines: 27
Payload to Low Earth Orbit: 63,800kg (140,660 lb)
Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb)
Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft)
Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb)
Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds)
When it launches, the Falcon Heavy (left) will be the world’s most powerful rocket, capable of carrying payloads far greater than even the Apollo 11 space shuttle (second from left)
Musk has also said David Bowie’s 1969 hit ‘Space Oddity’ would play in the vehicle during the launch.
SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars.
It has been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race.
Today’s successful launch marked the maiden flight of what’s now the most powerful operational rocket in the world
‘Meanwhile, the second stage is continuing its trajectory towards Mars,’ the SpaceX team said. ‘It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy’
Elon Musk shared a graphic on Twitter today to illustrate the flight path of the Falcon Heavy after launch. The 70-metre- (230-foot) long rocket’s central core will then detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm’s ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship in the Pacific Ocean
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy megarocket is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral launchpad today, in what will be the firm’s most ambitious launch yet. The megarocket can be seen sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its demonstration mission
The launch follows months of delays and build-up to the historic flight, with Musk frequently posting updates across his social media profiles.
On January 5, the billionaire wrote on Instagram: ‘Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad.
‘At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.
‘Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.’
The 46-year-old South African, who co-founded PayPal with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, predicts the Falcon Heavy’s payload will stay in deep space for a while.
The red Tesla Roadster can be seen above, during preparations ahead of launch
Tesla founder Elon Musk has released a new animation revealing how he will fire his car toward Mars today aboard the world’s most powerful rocket. The car has already been fitted into the huge rocket’s main module (pictured)
The billionaire, who is CEO of private rocket company SpaceX, said the firm’s Falcon Heavy spacecraft will carry his 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster on a billion-year journey through space ‘if it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces’. Pictured is an artist’s impression of the car strapped into the rocket’s main module before launch later today
Once the Falcon Heavy enters space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft’s booster rockets will separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings (pictured)
A photo of its unusual cargo – Musk’s cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster – was released last month.
Images released by SpaceX show an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appears to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket makes its maiden flight.
‘Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,’ Musk said in December.
‘Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel.
‘The payload will be an original Tesla Roadster, playing Space Oddity, on a billion year elliptic Mars orbit.’
The mission marks SpaceX’s most ambitious project to date.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.
In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.
‘There’s a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,’ he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.
‘Real good chance that the vehicle doesn’t make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.’
Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.
Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stoof next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle’s scale.
Once the Falcon Heavy enters space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft’s booster rockets will separate off (left and right) and return to Earth, with the central core and main module (centre) continuing into space
He tweeted: ‘Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.
‘It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.
‘I love that rocket so much.’
He also confirmed the rocket will have a ‘max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,’ adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.
‘Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.
‘Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,’ Musk originally posted.