SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Just Showed Us All the Future

Today, SpaceX made a successful test launch of their Falcon Heavy rocket, and it was a sight to behold. The rocket is the most powerful since the Saturn V that launched astronauts to the Moon (among other things) and will now be the most powerful rocket in modern use. On top of that, SpaceX is still landing rockets back on Earth after flight, giving us some of the most amazing space imagery we’ll ever see, right here on the ground.

Here’s what the launch looked like, followed by the two side boosters making simultaneous landings back on solid ground after doing their part to put the payload into orbit:

The payload in question was a car from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s other company, Tesla Inc, which is now soaring high above the Earth, complete with cameras:

After a few hours in orbit around Earth, the rocket still in space will reignite to get into a “transfer orbit” between Earth and Mars’ own path that will demonstrate its capability to fly to Mars (as Phil Plait explains), though it won’t actually go there. Meanwhile, the third booster that detached before orbit has also attempted landing on SpaceX’s barge, but we don’t know if it was successful just yet.

Whatever the case, this has been, so far, an extremely good test run for the new rocket and made faraway destinations like the aforementioned red planet seem more attainable than ever. To really drive things home, the car was blasting Bowie’s “Space Oddity” as it shot beyond the atmosphere, even if no one can hear it up there.

(image: SpaceX)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

twitter Link to www.projectmgame.com