SpaceX Really Did Just Launch a Tesla Roadster Into Space [News]

No, it’s not a set. This car is actually in space.

Where we’re going, we won’t need roads. At least that’s the situation for the “Starman” behind the wheel of this Tesla Roadster. This isn’t the set of some B-rate sci-fi movie, either – this car is actually in space. Yep, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX actually launched a car into space.

That was the answer to solving your traffic problems, then! The only way to escape the vice-like, soul-crushing grip of your daily commute was the slip the bonds of Earth itself. The Roadster served as ballast for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, the company’s – and the world’s – most powerful launch vehicle the world has ever seen. At 3:45 P.M. Eastern time today, the Falcon lifted off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center – the same pad that launched the first manned mission to the moon in 1969.

[Photo: SpaceX, via screen grab]

The Roadster’s Wild Space Odyssey

Now, the Tesla Roadster, passenger and all, is orbiting the Earth. According to SpaceX’s stated goal, however, that’s not its final destination. In fact, the Roadster will head some 250 million miles away from the Earth. It’s headed for Mars, as part of Musk’s ambitions to take humanity to the Red Planet. You can watch a livestream of the car in orbit above!

This was just a test flight for the Falcon Heavy, but how cool is it that a Tesla Roadster and the Starman came along for the ride?

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Tesla Roadster Launch
[Photo: SpaceX, via screen grab]
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