A year ago Elon Musk sent into space vehicle. What's wrong with him now?

It has been exactly 12 months since super-heavy carrier rocket Falcon Heavy private aerospace company SpaceX. 6 February 2018 from the launch site Pad 39A, Kennedy Space center was sent into space in the private car of the company founder, Elon musk Tesla Roadster, at the wheel which was dummy Starman dressed in developed at SpaceX prototype of a new space suit. How's the car, which was in orbit around the Sun a year?

The Electric car came to the hyperbolic orbit of the Earth and then went on a journey into deep space in a heliocentric orbit, whose apogee (the most distant from the Sun point) lies beyond the orbit of Mars and the perigee — close to the Ground.

the Start a super-heavy launch vehicle SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch site at Kennedy Space center February 6, 2018

It is Noteworthy that the results of the launch of the electric vehicle received a number of official designations: satellite directory under the name TESLA ROADSTER/FALCON 9H with a number 43205 in the directory of National data analysis center of the U.S. space exploration he was given the number 2018-017A.

Tesla-traveler

The Roadster and the driver reached the orbit of Mars in early November last year and are still in there somewhere, about 365 million miles from Earth, according to the website created by space enthusiast and engineer Ben Pearson. The orbital period of rotation around the Sun at Tesla is about 557 earth days.

It Should be noted that all conclusions about the location of a vehicle based solely on mathematical calculations. The machine itself is very small, so it can be seen even with the most powerful ground-based telescope, and connected to this case some kind of space telescope such as the Hubble, it was absolutely unforgivable luxury.

According to Pierce, the Roadster today, after a year traveling in space, most likely, safe and sound, as in deep space to very few objects that can damage. Agrees Professor, Department of chemistry, Indiana University bill Carroll, who believes that the greater danger to car can represent space debris orbiting the Earth. At the same time, the scientist adds that paint, air conditioning plastic parts of the car could significantly degrade under the ionizing radiation in interplanetary space. Your opinion the scientist reinforces the fact that even under the protection of the Earth's magnetic field, people, long time working on the space station can suffer from the effects of radiation.

The Professor believes that though the car looks probably whole, its parts, most likely, could lose its strength and flexibility. However, the body of a car made of metal, most likely, has not undergone any structural damage. In the end, the same probes "a" and "Voyager-2" are still working after 40 years in space, and they are mostly, if not completely, made of metal, adds the scientist.

In any case, Tesla, like its driver, if not destroyed by space debris at rapprochement with the Earth, forever circling through the Solar system will not be able. The calculations conducted last year, show that «space supercar» in the end, will fall either on Venus or on Earth. It will happen within a few tens of millions of years. These calculations show that there is a 6% and 2.5% probability that the car will fall on the Earth or Venus, respectively, within the next million years.

is Not the last launch of the rocket, the Falcon Heavy

Usually the first missile launches can be quite risky, so the quality of the payload for the carrier during this stage are not expensive spacecraft that nobody else wants to risk it, but the weight and size of objects. Usually it's just chunks of metal or concrete. Even before the preparations for the first launch, Elon Musk said that he chose the Roadster and the dummy as the first "passengers" Falcon Heavy for a joke.

the Starman Mannequin sitting behind the wheel, the electric supercar Elon musk Tesla Roadster on the background of the Earth. Photograph obtained during the first rocket launch Falcon Heavy 6 February 2018

At the same time, it is difficult not to recognize the fact that the successful launch of superheavy carrier rocket was very good PR move for SpaceX and attracted the interest not only of investors but also potential clients of the company. So, the first real commercial launch of the Falcon Heavy is scheduled for March 7. The carrier will have to bring into orbit a telecommunication satellite of Saudi Arabia Arabsat 6A weighing 6.6 tons.

Two-stage Falcon Heavy, the most powerful booster of modernity is an evolutionary stage of development of a family of Falcon rockets. It was developed on the basis of the carrier rocket Falcon 9 and uses a significantly modified first step as the Central block (I stage), as well as two additional modified first stage Falcon 9 as boosters. All the blocks of the first stage are reusable. During the first launch of SpaceX was able to gently put two side accelerator the Falcon Heavy on a U.S. air force base at Cape Canaveral. To put a Central unit of the rocket, unfortunately, did not happen. He missed the floating platform stationed in the Atlantic ocean, off the coast of Florida.

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