Center core didn’t make it, video of the empty drone ship was streamed after the landing attempt

https://t.co/o8SHcZPuIG?amp=1

Interesting seeing the thrusters at the top of the booster trying to stabilize it upright.

Not sure if they need more powerful thrusters or the thrusters ran out of fuel.

Overall the Heavy test was a success and Musk and the SpaceX team must be celebrating.

that was last year... not the same

That video is from 2015, does anyone check dates before sharing YouTube and Facebook links anymore?


Press conference at 6:45EST


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORTP545vAc

Center core hit ocean at 300mph, a few engines didn’t restart properly, they will release any video footage they have of it if it survives

They were not planning to reuse the center booster or any of the side boosters for that matter so there’s not really a loss

I’m wondering if the cost to retrieve it from ocean floor is worth the salvage price (the knowledge from retrieving and inspecting it)

I didn't. Sorry.

So inspiring. I love my son can see stuff like this. Dream big and go big.

Some really needs to get Elon to take a look at repowering the Duke.

Just get an F90.....

the final burn seems to be successful, some in california are capturing pictures of it in the night sky

https://twitter.com/tacticalskyguy/stat ... 8964955136

the live data feed is here, it seems to be picking up speed (edit, i saw a claim they were seeing a speed increase, but i'm actually noticing a speed decrease, so i guess we will see in a few hours what the real story is)

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=43205

Been watching, the Telsa has kept a slow roll going, so I don't think it has burned out of Earth orbit. Also, the tracking site shows a stable Earth orbit with speed and latitude varying as one would expect.

When they do the burn, it will be pretty clear...

Mike C.

Been watching, the Telsa has kept a slow roll going, so I don't think it has burned out of Earth orbit. Also, the tracking site shows a stable Earth orbit with speed and latitude varying as one would expect.

When they do the burn, it will be pretty clear...

Mike C.

Then the "live" Starman cameras are not.

And N2YO is not "real time" either, they show them reaching apogee of 6948 km just west of Malaysia.

Mike C.

Still showing Starman in Earth orbit, so the "live" video has been a recorded loop since well before the last burn.

When I first heard of the payload, the Tesla roadster, I thought that was stupid. I thought there must be some scientific payload they could put on the rocket for free even at the risk of loss. Getting things into space is so hard, especially interplanetary space, that somebody would want to do that if they could.

But after seeing the payload in orbit, I think there was a bit of brilliance to this. The images of Starman cruising outer space in a car provided a kind of personal connection to the public. Who can't look at the photos and not imagine themselves, top down, zooming between planets?

Now I know this is all fantasy and so does (almost) everyone else who saw it. But then, we go to the movies and know everything is fantasy as well, but yet there is a lasting and deep change from seeing it. Thus the emotional impact of seeing Starman in outer space has tremendous value.

In many ways, sending humans to the Moon or Mars is just as much a stunt as sending the car into space. Starman is a symbol of what we CAN do if we want to. Two days ago, manned mission to Mars seemed like it was way off and something of a folly. Now it seems clearly possible and inevitable, quite possibly in my lifetime now. Getting to Mars was more of an economic problem than technical and SpaceX can put things in space for 10% of what it used to cost.

The long term technical outcome of launching Falcon Heavy, of returning boosters, and so forth are all great and super worthwhile, but this mission will forever be remembered for Starman cruising outer space in a Tesla roadster. That is because he formed a personal connection with the public. Vastly more people watched him floating in space than watched the launch. Seeing the Earth slowly revolve around him was a very enthralling picture.

We are all Starman.

Mike C.

My understanding is they ended the feed right before the third burn.

I came to the same conclusion. I went from "this is the stupidest thing I ever heard, sending a Tesla to Mars" to "this is sheer brilliance"

You just can't pay for this kind of advertising for SpaceX or Tesla.