& # 39; Starman & # 39; pilots 766 million kilometers from Tesla's Space Roadster as it completes its first sun orbit

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The hype was almost overwhelming, but fortunately for SpaceX and its impetuous boss Elon Musk, the launch in 2018 of the first Falcon Heavy rocket system went perfectly, and a very unusual satellite was placed in an almost immortal orbit around the Sun: a bright red Tesla Roadster (the original model), piloted by a mannequin with space clothing called Starman.

So where is Starman and his space car now? Back home, relatively speaking.

Points of sale follow the position of trekking on the planet Tesla reports that the car and its passenger have now completed the loop and completed an orbit of the Sun. But do not look in the night sky to try to see it pass near you; Starman is now on the opposite side of the Sun from where the Earth is now in orbit, but it is in cruise control at over 24,000 miles at the time.

Starman and his red Tesla are in an elliptical orbit that rocks the duo beyond the orbit of Mars, before it returns to orbital distance from the Earth and perihelion – It's the closest point to the sun, which is where it is now. Since the elliptical path around the Starman Sun is not identical to that of Earth (or Mars), takes more than one year to drive the entire orbital circuit.

So how far did Starman drive the red Roadster? Near 800 million miles so far. You can get an exact cumulative total right here. And while Starman have close encounters with the Earth, Mars and perhaps other objects nearby (and far) future, he will not return to Earth any time soon – unless someone comes looking for him.

The initial video stream of the cameras aboard the Roadster caused a sensation on the Internet (and pretty zen too), but the batteries of these cameras have long been dead (ironic, given the battery charge on board), and the car is too far away for the signal to reach us anyway.

Why did Musk do it?

What is the point of throwing a convertible electric sports car with "Do not panic"on the central screen, in addition to a bit of egotism and selfish spirit? There are actually some good – although simple – reasons for rocket science. flight tests of a rocket, flight engineers use a "dummy" cargo package) to test the capabilities of the rocket, rather than risking to blow up a tedious commercial satellite or a valuable human cargo. This was the first launch of the Falcon Heavy, and the rocket needed some sort of payload to test it accurately under flight conditions. While the Falcon Heavy can lift a much heavier load than the Roadster, the use of the car was both a useful payload and a little fancy (and brilliant marketing) that we expected from Musk, who runs SpaceX , Tesla, SolarCity and other companies.

What will happen to Starman and his roadster?

Left alone, Starman could probably drive the Roadster around the Sun throughout the life of our solar system, which is expected to continue to run for another five to seven billion years. However, if humanity survives its technological adolescence, we may one day find ourselves with Starman and his then very old Tesla Roadster to see what the effects of billions, even billions of miles of unprotected space travel near the sun. .

Since the Tesla was not "prepared" for the rigors of space travel, in the manner of a satellite or an inhabited spaceship, the effects of atmospheric conditions on the car should be considerable. In astronomical terms, Starman and Tesla are very, very near the sun, like the Earth and Mars. Temperatures on sun-lit surfaces of the car can exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit, while shaded areas can be freezing at 250 degrees below zero.

Since the car is slowly rocking into space, every part of the car's exterior will be exposed to this endless and relentless heating / cooling cycle, which will dilate and shrink the metal surfaces to the point that the Fatigue risk splitting them from the frame of the car. Paint, tires, fabrics and most non-metallic items will likely be evaporated over time and thrown on solar wind. Indeed, the most "solvent" part of this whole adventure could be the Starman SpaceX space suit, conceived of course for use in space. How are you going? Only a very long time will tell us.

Drive carefully, Starman. Do not panic and enjoy the view.

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The hype was almost overwhelming, but luckily for SpaceX and its raucous boss, Elon Musk, the launch in 2018 of the first Falcon Heavy rocket system went perfectly, and a very unusual satellite was placed in an orbit around of the Sun: a brilliant red Tesla Roadster (the original model), piloted by a manikin with a space dressing known as Starman.

So where is Starman and his space car now? Back home, relatively speaking.

Tesla reports that the car and its passenger have now buckled and looped in the Sun's orbit. But do not look in the night sky to try to see it pass near you; Starman is now on the opposite side of the Sun from where the Earth is now in orbit, but it is in cruise control at over 24,000 miles at the time.

Starman and his red Tesla are in an elliptical orbit that rocks the duo beyond the orbit of Mars, before it returns to orbital distance from the Earth and perihelion – It's the closest point to the sun, which is where it is now. Since the elliptical path around the Starman Sun is not identical to that of the Earth (or Mars), it takes more than a year to travel the entire orbital circuit.

How far did Starman drive the red Roadster? Near 800 million miles so far. You can get an exact total amount here. And while Starman will have close encounters with Earth, Mars, and perhaps other objects in the near future (and far away), he will not return to Earth any time soon – unless somebody do not come and get him.

The initial video stream of the onboard cameras on the Roadster was an internet sensation (and pretty Zen too), but the batteries of these cameras have long been dead (ironic, considering the power of the battery on board), and the car is too far for the signal to reach us anyway now.

Why did Musk do it?

What is the point of launching an electric convertible sports car with "Do not Panic" on the center screen, in addition to a bit of egoism and selfish sense of show? There are actually some good – though simple – reasons for rocket science. During flight tests of the rocket, flight engineers use dummy cargo (usually boring weights or a set of search sensors) to test the rocket's capabilities, rather than risk exploding a glitzy commercial satellite or a precious human cargo. It was the first launch of the Falcon Heavy, and the rocket needed a payload to test it accurately under flight conditions. While the Falcon Heavy can lift a much heavier load than the Roadster, the use of the car was both a useful payload and a little fancy (and brilliant marketing) that we expected from Musk, who runs SpaceX , Tesla, SolarCity and other companies.

What will happen to Starman and his roadster?

Left alone, Starman could probably drive the Roadster around the Sun throughout the life of our solar system, which is expected to continue to run for another five to seven billion years. However, if humanity survives its technological adolescence, we may one day find ourselves with Starman and his then very old Tesla Roadster to see what the effects of billions, even billions of miles of unprotected space travel near the sun. .

Since the Tesla was not "prepared" for the rigors of space travel, in the manner of a satellite or an inhabited spaceship, the effects of atmospheric conditions on the car should be considerable. In astronomical terms, Starman and Tesla are very, very near the sun, like Earth and Mars. Temperatures on sun-lit surfaces of the car can exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit, while shaded areas can be freezing at 250 degrees below zero.

Since the car is slowly rocking into space, every part of the car's exterior will be exposed to this endless and relentless heating / cooling cycle, which will dilate and shrink the metal surfaces to the point that the Fatigue risk splitting them from the frame of the car. Paint, tires, fabrics and most non-metallic materials will likely be evaporated over time and projected onto the solar wind. Indeed, the most "solvent" part of this whole adventure could be the Starman SpaceX space suit, conceived of course for use in space. How are you going? Only a very long time will tell us.

Drive carefully, Starman. Do not panic and enjoy the view.