WATCH LIVE: SpaceX launches the Falcon Heavy, the rocket that could go to Mars

NYJimbo

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On Tuesday afternoon, a rocket the size of a 20-story building, containing 27 engines and a cherry-red Tesla Roadster as its payload, is slated to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the maiden flight of Space X’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket to launch in 45 years, since NASA’s Saturn V, which last flew in 1973.

Liftoff window begins at 1:30 p.m. ET.

 
Delayed Launch now 2:20 PM Eastern Std Time. (due to upper level wind shear)

Does anyone know why on earth, a perfectly good "supercar" is being used as dead weight?
 
That was incredible! And the "Don't Panic" on the Tesla's dashboard screen was a great touch.
Agreed. Absolutely Fantastic!! Loved that little "Don't Panic" touch too! Nice tribute to Douglas Adams :)


Was it just me or were the launch control guys calling it "F*ckin' Heavy"? :D
 
Amazing! So refreshing to see someone trying to do something positive and constructive.

Imagine if 20 billion was used on education or science or the environment or space exploration instead of a fucking wall.
 
Am I the only one who had to listen to "boy band" type fan screaming for every phase of the launch ?
 
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I'm about 120 miles from the launch site and if the skies are clear you can see exhaust smoke from the rising rocket. (When the shuttle had their night launches, you could actually see the flames; and with binoculars you could see the first stage separation.)

Today, I was at a customer site when the launch took place. Was working on a network problem when all of a sudden, a whole bunch of customers went out the door saying "the launch is happening!". So we all went outside to watch. Couldn't see the actual rocket itself (too far away), but could plainly see the smoke plume rising in the distance. Definitely cool.
 
The centre booster didn't quite make it:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16980954/spacex-falcon-heavy-rocket-middle-core-failed-landing
The center core was only able to relight one of the three engines necessary to land, and so it hit the water at 300 miles per hour about 300 feet from the drone ship.
Still, to go to space and back then crash land only 300ft from the intended target, with just one (out of three) rockets firing, ain't a bad attempt. Hopefully they'll have that perfected soon.



Imagine if 20 billion was used on education or science or the environment or space exploration instead of a fucking wall.
Yep. THIS is how you make America great.

In fact, whatever your views on Trump (or any of the world leaders we have at present), THIS is how we make the world great. It demonstrates what can be achieved without government controlled funding. Just think what we could achieve together in a world without borders, governments or warmongering leaders.
 
Yep. THIS is how you make America great.

In fact, whatever your views on Trump (or any of the world leaders we have at present), THIS is how we make the world great. It demonstrates what can be achieved without government controlled funding. Just think what we could achieve together in a world without borders, governments or warmongering leaders.
It swings both ways man. As great as this is, an anti-Elon with the same resources available could ruin the world. Governments are a balancing force if done right and while they may hold us back in some ways, they also keep us on our feet.

I just finished the audio book Ready Player One, and can't help but notice the similarities between Elon Musk and Halliday from the book. Driven and successful nerds making huge differences in the world. I wonder what kind of contest Elon will have upon his death to get his fortune.
 
It swings both ways man. As great as this is, an anti-Elon with the same resources available could ruin the world. Governments are a balancing force if done right and while they may hold us back in some ways, they also keep us on our feet.
True, but consider how governments do that. They write laws and collect taxation to fund police and/or armies to enforce them and they ensure that taxation funds are spent fairly and wisely to prevent civil unrest (or at least that's what they're supposed to do). So it's not the governments that keep society in order but the law, taxation and how those funds are spent. The problem is, putting individual governments in charge of all that, inevitably leads to corruption, conflict and failure.

Now imagine a world where the laws, taxation and law enforcement are controlled through consensus and technology instead of government. Where all laws and important decisions are made by everyone, fairly and on global scale. Where taxation is automatically collected and appropriated, ensuring the right amount of funding is provided for law enforcement, healthcare, scientific research, etc, etc. Where there are no governments, no hidden agendas, no corruption, no disagreements, just logical automated decision making on a global scale, based on fact, consensus and the fairest possible outcome for everyone.

Okay, so I realise that vision of utopia is not likely to happen any time soon, probably not in our lifetimes and certainly not while the present governments still have power, but I believe it's something we should aim towards as a way forward for future generations. If humans are to ever progress beyond a type 1 civilisation, I think it would be essential to rid ourselves of governments and all this territorial crap that ultimately leads to conflict. Before we can venture far into space to inhabit other worlds, we need to learn to work together as a unified planet.
 
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I do cgi myself maya ect. that car is cgi i have seen numerous glitches and artifacts that happen in cgi and not real life been doing cgi since the amiga days use to do star trek and babylon 5 scenes.
 
I live under a rock so I didn't even know the Falcon Heavy was being launched. The first time I heard of it yesterday was when I saw that pic of the roadster in space. I actually did think it was just a poor CGI rendering and that it was just a joke.
 
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world...ly-launching-a-tesla-roadster-into-space.html

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/915948/spacex-flat-earth-falcon-heavy-launch-fake-elon-musk

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, entertained the Flat Earthers in a post-launch interview. Mr Musk joked the car looked too “weird, too crisp” to be real.

Mr Musk said: "You can tell it’s real because it looks so fake.

"It’s just literally a normal car in space, which I kind of like the absurdity of that."

Those who watched the SpaceX feed saw the expensive electric car breathtakingly hang over the blue planet below, immediately disproving conspiracies the Earth is anything but a globe.
Well, Musk says it wasn't CGI ... who knows ...

One thing's for sure though, the earth ain't feckin' flat! :rolleyes:

I think it would've been a much better idea to put all the Flat Earthers in the rocket instead of the car. Not only would that prove to them that earth is a globe but it'd also rid the earth of a bunch of idiots.

I like this quote:
The South African billionaire tweeted: "If Earth is flat, does that mean other planets are as well?"

"Why is there no Flat Mars Society?”
 
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