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Watch Starman and its Tesla get swallowed by the darkness of space
Starman is drifting farther and farther away from us; a lot of the telescopes that have been tracking the Tesla and its passenger's journey will soon no longer be able to see them. The Virtual Telescope Project, which has been keeping an eye on the spacefarer and its trusty Tesla from the time they left the planet aboard the first Falcon Heavy launch, is bidding the duo goodbye by live streaming their trajectory one last time. VTP gives people a way to access several robotic telescopes in real time over the internet -- the images of Starman and its Tesla zooming across the sky, in particular, were and will be provided by the Tenagra Observatories in Arizona.
What's next for SpaceX after its successful Falcon Heavy flight?
Yesterday, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket to much fanfare. After numerous delays due to upper-level winds, the rocket lifted off at 3:45 PM ET on Tuesday. The rocket worked perfectly, delivering the test payload into orbit (a red Tesla roadster) and coasting for six hours before performing another engine burn to take it deeper into the solar system. SpaceX was even able to land two of the three boosters in beautiful synchronization. The core booster was lost because of low propellant; it slammed into the ocean at around 300 miles per hour, 300 feet from the drone ship.
SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch
SpaceX will attempt to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time tomorrow. It's no small feat and a lot could go wrong, but SpaceX has a released a video showing how the launch will work if everything goes according to plan.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch gets a spacesuit-clad 'Starman'
The debut launch of the Falcon Heavy will be a serious and complex affair, but SpaceX boss Elon Musk is trying to boost the fun level to maximum. Not only is he using a cherry red Tesla Roadster as ballast for the first test, he's placed a dummy wearing SpaceX's stylish new space suit in the driver's seat, according to a new Instagram post. "Starman in Red Roadster," Musk wrote, a reference to the fact that the EV will supposedly be blasting David Bowie's Space Oddity.
SpaceX tests the Falcon Heavy's 27 engines ahead of first launch (updated)
Today, SpaceX performed a static fire test on its Falcon Heavy rocket. Also called the hold-down test, it involved loading the rocket with propellant and firing all of its 27 engines at once while the rocket was secured to the launch pad. The test appears to have been successful, though we are waiting on confirmation from SpaceX.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch has been pushed to next year
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket has been gearing up for its inaugural launch for quite some time, but multiple delays keep pushing that event later and later. The SpaceX team had most recently been shooting for a launch before the end of this year, but according to reports from Aviation Week and confirmed to us by SpaceX, Falcon Heavy probably won't see a launch before next year.
SpaceX could send its biggest rocket to space in three months
SpaceX is preparing a used booster for relaunch on June 17th, but it's apparently getting its heavy lift rocket ready for lift off sometime this year, as well. According to company chief Elon Musk's response to one of his Twitter followers, all three of the Falcon Heavy cores should be at Cape Canaveral in two to three months. If everything goes well, the rocket could make its way to space a month after that. That means the Falcon Heavy's first journey could take place as early as September, which is consistent with what the company has been planning for a while now.
SpaceX begins test-firing parts of its biggest rocket
Sorry folks, things are about to get heavy, by which we mean that SpaceX has begun test-firing the boosters for the Falcon Heavy. The company posted a clip of the event from last week, showing a side booster being put through its paces. Elon Musk subsequently tweeted that, when the Falcon Heavy launches, it'll be this powerful, but "times three." The CEO added that "one way or another, launch is guaranteed to be exciting."
