Falcon Heavy

Now, if they could just get him to wave to the camera.

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There’s a towel in the glove box from what I heard.

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That’s how you make a statement.

He Tweeted that picture with the Earth in the windshield, and said “This is a picture from SpaceX control. Apparently there is a car in orbit around Earth.”

Nothing but class, with a big red shiny cherry on top!

And by far - the best looking!

After it leaves the Van Allen Belt that upholstery will probably start leaving a trail like a comet.

Hey man, I was out of my chair, clapping and cheering with the hair on my arms standing and tears in my eyes!
:star_struck::heart_eyes::sunglasses:

I bet I know where our rocket Man was today.

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…and I’ll be watching the SE sky in the morning, watching him make a pass about 20º up from SW to SSE… This pass is good for Denver on Wed am:

http://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?&satid=37253&mjd=58155.4947013276&type=V

The site is a little jammed (wonder why…), but users can enter their location and get a list of visible pass predictions.

Again, Denver area the morning of 2/7:
12%20PM

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Runtime error - what time?

0450-0550 local MST. Magnitude of about -7, so BRIGHT!

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You got that @rpegg? I think i’ll set my scope out to acclimate.

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Should be easy to spot! I guess binoculars would be better.

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Satellites are usually too fast to track with a scope (tripod-mounted binos preferred), BUT… Falcon is in a high transfer orbit with lots of “hang time,” so maybe… Mag of -7 in a scope might be like staring into a las… never mind. :innocent:

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Thanks Dennis! I do have a moon filter… but the binocs are easier/better for that target. (Setting alarm)
Remember how they taught us in the Navy how to hold the binocs with your thumbs perched on your jaw? I am surprised at how many astronomy fans don’t know that trick.

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I am trying to imagine an alien species 100k years from now discovering the car and trying to figure out why it was there :thinking:

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I had the same thought could even be trolling future mankind

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The synchronous, perfect landing of the side booster rockets was spectacular. It was unreal other worldly, like I was watching a movie of something happening in the far distant future. But it happened here on Earth yesterday. Wow.

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That was spectacular!
Watching the short propellant blasts correct trajectory, and the vehicle slowing from orbital velocity to the soft touchdown - autonomously… So inspiring!
America is back in the space launch business, and sets a high bar for capability, performance and doing it for a fraction of previous expense.

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Kind of. Elon Musk is a South African born Canadian American running a private company mostly located in the U.S… But his vision is larger than all of my U.S. centric ancestors and relatives combined.

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Yeah, his goals are not 'Murica centric, as exemplified by making many of his Tesla patents being open for use. when he was asked why he did that he said (paraphrasing) We are trying to make a sustainable model for transportation, and if we lay landmines behind us that defeats the purpose.

One thing that sticks out to me is he is going to make a massive fortune (already worth around 20B), but that is a side effect, not a goal.
His dream is to get mankind to Mars, and when he discovered how prohibitively expensive the space launch business is, it became obvious that was the first obstacle to overcome.
To the dismay of his SpaceX employees, he told them he wouldn’t take the company public until he got to Mars because that was the only way he could maintain control over it.

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Do you mean public instead of private? Full disclosure: I’ve had a couple of drinks, so your statement may make sense to those 100% sober.

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Oops, thanks.

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You mean I was right? Obviously this calls for another drink. :wink:

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Dilly Dilly…

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