SpaceX! I was thinking the same song when I saw its car in space!

Golly sir, I sure am glad you’re here to explain it to me, but just for shits and giggles, let me take a stab at it.

Elon Musk wants to make humanity a multi-planet species, otherwise we are at risk of some kind of planet wide extinction level event. Having looked at the problem, he thinks the fundamental issue is one of economics. If he can get the price per person for a trip to Mars down to $500k, he figures he’ll get enough mad, bad and rich AF people to give forming a colony a go.

But that first step from earth to orbit is motherfucking expensive and aside from crazy unproven tech like a space elevator, thanks to the Tyranny of the Rocket Equation there really isn’t a cheap way to do this in terms of energy expenditure.

Ok, thinks Elon, what’s the other major cost in this whole shooting things into space gig? Hmm, the big fucking rocket costs a lot... be nice if we could reuse that instead of building a new one each time.

So he works on building a reusable rocket, and after many hilarious videos of “rapid unscheduled disassembly”, fuck me if the damn thing doesn’t start to stick the landing!

So now we need to do the same, but with a bigger rocket and a heavier payload. Can’t really risk an actual payload (see previous video of RUD) so what to do?

Well, the sensible, cost effective thing would be just a big heavy weight. But that’s got fuck all viral marketing appeal, so if you’re gonna shoot something into space as part of a multi billion dollar rocket program, what’s a measly couple of hundred k compared to the millions in free advertising for both Tesla and SpaceX this will generate!

Well, look at that. Turns out I do understand this!

But if think sending an expensive sports car into space WASN’T a frivolous waste of money, I invite you to spend time with someone sleeping rough or a family who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from.

As I said, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it, but don’t pretend this was anything other than a billionaire doing something insanely cool and expensive because he thought it was cool.

*related=http://videosift.com/video/SpaceX-Falcon-Heavy-Animation

SpaceX: Falcon Heavy Animation has been added as a related post - related requested by ant.

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Launch Of Elon Musk's $250,000 Tesla Into Space 2/6/18 LIVE has been added as a related post - related requested by newtboy on that post.

SpaceX launch scheduled for 10 minutes at last update....
Sorry, that's the liftoff window...not sure how long that window lasts.

https://youtu.be/lQx6YBtQZbw

It was not a test launch. It was an instantaneous launch just after sunset to launch 10 satellites. The clock on the dash cam must not be set to local time.

https://youtu.be/wtdjCwo6d3Q

"SpaceX is targeting launch of Iridium-4 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 5:27 p.m. PST on Friday, December 22"


https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/23/spacex-launch-dazzles-delivering-10-more-satellites-for-iridium/

"The two-stage, kerosene-fueled rocket climbed into the rarefied upper atmosphere a few minutes following liftoff shortly after sunset at 5:27:34 p.m. PST (8:27:34 p.m. EST; 0127:34 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles.

The Falcon 9 left a brilliant white plume of exhaust in its wake, catching rays of sunshine as it soared above the stratosphere. The ever-expanding plume left a teardrop-shaped mark in the sky, prompting countless social media posts from rush hour drivers and others who happened to catch an unexpected glimpse of the rocket’s trip to space."

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Here are videos of the stage's first flight and landing:
https://videosift.com/video/First-Stage-Landing-of-Falcon-9-Onboard-Cam
https://videosift.com/video/Spacex-Successful-Dragon-orbit-Ocean-Landing-Stage-1

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