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Space & Astronomy

Elon Musk's car completes full orbit of the Sun

By T.K. Randall
August 19, 2019 · Comment icon 12 comments

There's a Starman waiting in the sky... Image Credit: YouTube / SpaceX
The first and only sports car to have ever been launched into space has now traveled 763 million miles.
Back on February 6th, 2018, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket soared high into the sky above Cape Canaveral, Florida after a truly spectacular launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Its mission, in addition to demonstrating its capabilities, was to do something that no other rocket had ever done before - deliver a production sports car into orbit with a mannequin at the steering wheel.

Named 'Starman' after the David Bowie song, this lonesome astronaut would remain forever in the driver's seat as the car ventured out into space, leaving the Earth far behind.
Now, 557 days since it originally launched, the Tesla Roadster has officially completed a full orbit of the Sun, having traveled more than 763 million miles at a speed of over 75,000 miles per hour.

If the car's battery is still working, it will have played Bowie's "A Space Oddity" 151,810 times.

The distance it has covered is the equivalent of driving all of the world's roads 33.8 times.

Starman, it seems, has been on one heck of a road trip.



Source: Lad Bible | Comments (12)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #3 Posted by AllPossible 5 years ago
Technically the fastest car ever. Are the wheels spinning? Serious question. I would appreciate an answer please...
Comment icon #4 Posted by Desertrat56 5 years ago
It's an electric car.
Comment icon #5 Posted by toast 5 years ago
Why should they?
Comment icon #6 Posted by Dark_Grey 5 years ago
The car was outfitted with heat resistant panels and shielding.  ...not really. It's just a standard Telsa, strapped to a rocket and launched in to space. Like Elon himself said in the press video, "you can tell it's real because it looks so fake".
Comment icon #7 Posted by toast 5 years ago
Track it.
Comment icon #8 Posted by Timothy 5 years ago
That drill guy in the YouTube video said the military hasn’t needed grease for years. So maybe it’s the same for oil? 
Comment icon #9 Posted by pallidin 5 years ago
I'll bet the driver needs a bathroom break... oh, wait.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Almighty Evan 5 years ago
Effects of solar wind? In early 2018, Rafi Letzter at Live Science predicted it would be torn "to bits" by radiation in a year. https://www.livescience.com/61680-will-spacex-roadster-survive-in-space.html Do we know if it's still intact?
Comment icon #11 Posted by tmcom 5 years ago
They are just testing the duco, (it had a wax before launch).
Comment icon #12 Posted by Jon the frog 5 years ago
It would be so cool if the inboard camera still works.


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