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About 18 months ago, SpaceX orbited a first-generation Tesla Roadster with a manikin dressed as a spacesuit on board for the journey. Recently, the dummy's passenger – affectionately nicknamed "Starman" – has completed her first rotation around the sun and is en route to the end of the universe.
Starman began his ascent to the stars in February 2018 as a test payload for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. It was carefully placed in the driver seat of the Cherry Red Tesla Roadster of the Elon Musk CEO and was launched in the space with the car radio listening to David Bowie's success in 1969 , Oddity of space. And so the journey to nowhere has begun, just an astronaut and his car.
The site's data, which traces the location of Starman, show that the Roadster completed its first orbit in one year, six months and 12 days after its launch in space. In total, it has traveled more than 763 million kilometers at the time of writing this article and currently travels the space at an astonishing speed of 25,749 miles per hour.
It may seem odd that SpaceX used a car as a test payload, which obviously was out of the norm. But there were some simple explanations of why the SpaceX team had chosen an unorthodox test method with a brand new rocket. If the company had loaded the satellite Falcon Heavy and the rocket would be one of the company's famous quick and unplanned disassemblies, it could well be that they cost far more than the cost of a Tesla Roadster.
But, most importantly for Musk was perhaps the fact that the waterfall attracted attention. It was not any old Tesla, it was the CEO's personal car, surrounded by a nostalgia for Bowie on the theme of space. In addition, it is entertaining to see a car being launched into the cosmos.
"It's a bit silly and fun, but I think silly and fun things are important," Musk said in an interview about the launch. "Normally, a new rocket launches like a concrete block and it's so boring. Imaging is something that will excite people around the world. And it still makes me stumble.
Experts estimate that the Starman expedition will bring it back to Earth in November 2020, although its overflight is not necessarily close to just over 32 million kilometers. However, it will take some time before the electric car and its occupant return to their original planet. The trajectory estimates predict that after his visit next year, the Roadster will no longer be near his home before 2047.
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