He was not joking - SpaceX is preparing to launch Tesla Roadster to Mars

In early December 2017, Ilon Mask published photos on his Instagram and wrote that the new Falcon Heavy super-heavy rocket would be launched from the LC-39A platform at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from where the spacecraft were launched as part of the US Apollo lunar program. The launch is scheduled for January 2018.



According to the businessman, the rocket will launch his own Tesla Roadster into Mars orbit, in which the Space Oddity song of David Bowie will play.



Many perceived his message as a joke and did not attach much importance to his words.

But today, Ilon posted in his Instagram photos of his red Tesla Roadster, which is already being installed as a payload for the Falcon Heavy.



"It will be in space for billions of years if it does not explode during takeoff," the businessman wrote.





Let's hope the launch will be successful, and the Red car will fly towards the Red Planet.



Falcon Heavy is the most powerful of the existing missiles, only Saturn-5 and Energy were more powerful than it, but they have been retired for a long time. Falcon Heavy can deliver 63.8 tons to low reference orbit (which is almost 3 times more than Falcon 9 or Proton-M), as well as 16.8 tons to Mars.



UPD: And meanwhile, already routinely and unnoticed, they successfully launched the 4th decade of Iridium NEXT satellites. On the already flown first stage.