Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 06-02-2018

Lift off of the most powerful rocket to leave earth in a generation is set for its maiden flight from Florida on Tuesday.

The 23-story-tall Falcon Heavy developed by the private space flight company Space X is scheduled for lift off from the Kenney Space Centre carrying a 1.2 million Rand cherry red electric-powered Tesla sports car belong to the company’s South African born founder Elon Musk.

The sleek Tesla Roadster is supposed to be sent into a virtually indefinite solar orbit, on a path taking it as far from Earth as Mars. Adding to the whimsy, SpaceX has planted a space-suited in the driver’s seat of the convertible.

Getting the rocket off the ground would likely give California-based SpaceX a new edge on the handful of commercial rocket companies vying for lucrative contracts with NASA, satellite companies and the U.S. military.

Propelled by 27 rocket engines, the Falcon Heavy packs more than 5 million pounds of thrust at launch, roughly three times the force of the Falcon 9 booster that until now has been the workhorse of the SpaceX fleet.

If the demonstration flight succeeds, Falcon Heavy will rank as the world’s most powerful existing rocket, with more lift capacity than any U.S. space vehicle since the era of NASA’s Saturn 5 rockets that took astronauts to the moon some 45 years ago.

– Reuters 

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143