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Ride along with the dummy driving Elon Musk’s Tesla to Mars

Ride along with the dummy driving Elon Musk’s Tesla to Mars

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Come along and ride on a fantastic voyage

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Mere minutes after successfully launching the Falcon Heavy rocket on the first try, SpaceX is now live streaming footage from Tesla Roadster it released into space. Now we know what CEO Elon Musk meant yesterday when he teased that there would be “epic views” if the launch went well.

The Roadster is still attached to the Falcon Heavy’s upper stage, which is currently an hour or so into what is supposed to be a six-hour “coast” through the Van Allen radiation belts. If the upper stage’s systems survive being bombarded with all that radiation, then it will fire one last time, pushing the Tesla out towards its elliptical orbit around Mars.

The stream is currently oscillating between the three cameras mounted to the car and the data feed from SpaceX HQ that shows the rocket stage’s trajectory. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess at the moment. My suggestion is to cast it to a TV, sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Update February 6th, 11:16PM ET: The live stream has, unfortunately, ended. The final burn was successful, according to Elon Musk, but the Roadster is also no longer going to Mars. Instead, it’s going to the asteroid belt.