Questions tagged [tesla-roadster]
For questions related to Elon Musk's Midnight Cherry Tesla Roadster (and its "pilot", an empty SpaceX suit named Starman), launched as the payload on the inaugural Falcon Heavy flight on February 6, 2018. May also be used in conjunction with the [nonstandard-payload] tag.
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What is the closest distance SpaceX's Tesla Roadster (Starman) will ever be to Mars?
Elon Musk's own personal Tesla Roadster launched on the Falcon Heavy in November 2018 and unfortunately overshot the orbit of Mars. This short animation shows the trajectory of SpaceX's Roadster. It ...
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2answers
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If Starman (Roadster) had a “Starman Cam” could it see Mars? (as more than just a dot)
Our own Ben Pearson's new article in Ars Technica Starman is out there, but we probably won’t see him again until 2047 points out:
A much closer pass will happen at Mars on April 22, 2035. The ...
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1answer
1k views
Why does Starman/Roadster have radial acceleration?
Discussion in chat pointed out that the SpaceX Roadster or Starman has a Marsden A1 coefficient.
From solution 10 in Horizons:
...
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1answer
169 views
Why did Roadster (Starman) look fuzzy before the long burn to deep space started?
Information in this answer and in this answer shows that Derek C. Breit's hand-held video of the Falcon Heavy 2nd stage near the end of its six hour Earth orbit was recorded in the last minutes before ...
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3answers
209 views
Was Roadster (Starman) seen in Earth orbit, before the long burn to deep space?
Discussion in comments below this answer tend to conclude that 1st stages come back to Earth and so (essentially) all those tumbling rocket body objects in Heavens Above are 2nd stages, though I ...
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What was the ambient air density was there when/were Starman/Roadster first started playing Bowie's “Life on Mars”
When the Falcon Heavy test flight 2nd stage fairing opened at about 115 km, David Bowie started singing "Life on Mars".
Okay, the Tesla Roadster's stereo started playing "Life on Mars", or at least ...
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4answers
2k views
When was the last time that Starman/Roadster was seen?
Starman/Roadster (2018-017A, 43205) is a Falcon 9 2nd stage with a red sports car attached, in a heliocentric orbit in deep space.
It was tracked by telescopes for several weeks at least after launch ...
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0answers
63 views
Will Starman/Roadster pass particularly close to any asteroids in the next few years?
Given what's known about Starman/Roadster's orbit (2018-017A, 43205) have there been, or are there any future predicted close passes to asteroids or comets (or anything) in the next few years?
These ...
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3answers
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Could the Lunar X-Prize have been won by the Tesla Roadster that was the Falcon Heavy test payload?
The Lunar X-Prize winning condition was "landing a robot on the surface of the Moon, traveling 500 meters over the lunar surface, and sending images and data back to the Earth."
The Falcon Heavy test ...
8
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3answers
457 views
Is there a database for space junk beyond Earth orbit, and is Roadster in it?
After a bit of low drama I've come to accept that Roadster is space junk and agree with this answer.
After reading this answer about space junk in orbit around Earth, I'd like to ask if there is a ...
2
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1answer
193 views
Why does this site show Starman's position so far from what Horizons gives?
As this answer mentions, there have been several questions about the data represented on the whereisroadster site within the Space Exploration Stack Exchange site.
One about wrong distances has been ...
32
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2answers
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Why does this plot show Starman's speed relative to the Sun fluctuating so often?
After the launch of Starman, during the inaugural flight of SpaceX's heavy lift vehicle, the Falcon Heavy, PearsonArtPhoto set up a website to track various stats about Starman and his Roadster.
A ...
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1answer
112 views
Pi-day challenge; when will Starman/Roadster's orbit reach pi wrt launchpoint or Earth?
In response to today being pi day (also see http://www.piday.org/), NASA has published it's fifth annual pi in the sky day 5 activity set (see also NASA goes the distance and Celebrate Pi Day with ...
15
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2answers
2k views
Is SpaceX doing any science with the Roadster and/or spacesuit?
I know that the putting the Tesla Roadster into orbit was primarily a publicity stunt.
However, the thought occurred to me that it would also be an opportunity to do some science and/or gather data ...
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2answers
479 views
Where are all those blocks of steel and concrete now?
According to the Wikipedia article about Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster now in Heliocentric orbit:
Traditionally, concrete or steel blocks are used as ballast in risky test flights. SpaceX wanted to ...
14
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1answer
667 views
What sterilizations or other preparations or approval were necessary to send the Tesla Roadster into an orbit that may impact life-capable planets?
I understand NASA and other space agencies have rules in place to protect planets or moons that might harbor life. This includes requirements to sterilize spacecraft as well as avoid impacts.
There ...
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0answers
47 views
I got two questions about the Starman Tesla roadster orbiting the solar system [duplicate]
First, is it possible that the Starman Tesla roadster re-enters the earths orbit as it's close to the earth?
Secondly, it's similar to the first one, is it possible that in 2020 when the Starman ...
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1answer
296 views
Starman and Tesla temperatures [duplicate]
As The Tesla car and Starman continue to orbit the earth, How does the paint on the car survive the extremes of temperature? As I understand it, they are both exposed to temperatures between 120C and -...
38
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1answer
8k views
Why did the Tesla Roadster spend time in the Van Allen belt?
Following the Falcon Heavy launch, the second stage + Roadster payload spent a number of hours 'drifting' through the Van Allen belt before performing the burn to put it into its current orbit.
Elon ...
16
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3answers
4k views
Why didn't they launch the Falcon Heavy to be injected into Mars orbit?
With SpaceX's mission of getting a human colony, why would they launch the roadster into the astroid belt and not actually attempt to inject it into mars orbit?
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2answers
488 views
Frequency and modulation mode(s) for the SpaceX Tesla roadster mass in space
As an Electrical Engineer (emphasis in RF and radar, class of '74) who has followed the space program(s) since Mercury, and a prior flight test telemetry engineer, I was wondering if anyone knows what ...
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265 views
Where are the keys for Elon Musk's (Starman's) Tesla Roadster?
In this question, the OP posits that the keys will be in the ignition if/when the Roadster is ever recovered.
I haven't yet found anything that notes where the keys actually are, and in the images ...
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2answers
248 views
Would Elon Musk's roadster be able to rotate itself using its wheels as reaction control?
If so, couldn't it also rotate itself sideways somewhat by turning its front wheels? (assuming it has 4wd and electricity.)
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2answers
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Is Starman in the Tesla Roadster a real human?
I first need to know if starman is a real human or a robot.
If he is a real human, how does he live? How many years can he live in that car?
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1answer
254 views
What is the FOV on the various Starman cameras?
I'm trying to find the Field of View of the cameras used by Starman. Anyone know what it was? Thanks!
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How did the Roadster get high enough to take a whole-Earth picture?
According to telemetry as seen in videos of the event, the car was ejected from the Stage 2 rocket at 114km above Earth.
Anything less than 160km will immediately enter a rapidly decaying orbit and ...
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2answers
1k views
Why doesn't the Tesla Roadster's windscreen crack or break in space?
The car is on the sun side of space as seen by the lens flare. This means that the car will absorb high amounts of radiation, heating the car up to well over 250 degrees Celsius . A car windscreen ...
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2answers
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What is that haze on Starman's windshield?
There is a haze on the top half of Starman's windshield? It was not there in the first day o fthe launch and the video feed. It looks like fogged window, but assume it cannot be that. What is it and ...
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2answers
765 views
Tesla Roadster new orbital elements [closed]
Has a TLE been posted somewhere for the Tesla Roadster in its new orbit out past Mars? I was hoping to paste it into SN7. Thanks
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1answer
188 views
Can HiRISE photograph Starman?
On Oct 7, 2020, according to the latest predictions, the Tesla Roadster/ Starman will pass within 0.05 AU (7.4 million km). Could HiRISE image it with any success, and as anything but a dot?
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2answers
308 views
What accounted for the total mass of the Tesla/Starman?
According to this Wikipedia article, Falcon Heavy is claimed to be able to deliver a payload of 63,800 kilograms to LEO. According to this article, the Tesla Roadster has a curb weight of 1,305 kg. ...
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2answers
381 views
Could Starman get ejected from the Solar System?
This is not about a prediction of Starman's fate, although it might be interesting to find it so.
This is about any object having similar aphelion and perihelion values to Starman (Elon Musk's Tesla ...
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1answer
504 views
Does anyone know what this camera view is of from Starman/Roadster live footage?
In reviewing the replay video
of the live coverage of Starman/Roadster floating around the Earth I found a camera view that is different from the rest.
Does anyone ...
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1answer
753 views
Why would SpaceX limit Starman’s Tesla signal transmission to 12 hours and not use solar power? [duplicate]
I'm as smitten as everyone else by Elon’s Starman cruisin' his Tesla through the cosmos. But I'm even more curious why we were limited to a signal transmission architecture with a mere 12-hour life ...
6
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1answer
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How long will we be getting data (pictures?) from Starman and his Tesla?
So originally, I read this article that claimed that the battery in the Tesla launched on the Falcon Heavy would last for about 12 hours after launch. The live video stream was only broadcast for ...
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1answer
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When is the tesla roadster expected to reach mars [duplicate]
I guess "Reach" is a bad term here.
When is the Tesla roadster expected to be close enough to mars that it can orbit it normally, just as satellites orbit us.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/...
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1answer
419 views
When will SpaceX Falcon Heavy Tesla cross Mars orbit?
Elon Musk clearly miscommunicated here. The Tesla is going to take awhile to cross Mars orbit. When will that be?
note: to future readers, the shape of the orbit shown in this tweet is no longer ...
3
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1answer
468 views
Did SpaceX intend to overshoot Mars?
There seems to be a lot of buzz around the Internet that the now famous Roadster is going to overshoot mars. Was this intentional, just to show the kind of capacity it is capable of? Or was there some ...
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2answers
699 views
Did a particle hit the second stage of the Falcon Heavy in this video from the Starman stream?
The silver material surrounding the base of the Falcon Heavy second-stage engine jerks suddenly in this video from the Starman stream at 3:31:26
Is this due to a particle impact?
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0answers
208 views
What's up with Star Man's Roadster's suspension?
On Earth, a vehicle's weight compresses the suspension, and the wheel rims are generally designed to closely fit the contour of the tires with only a small gap between. Take away that weight, the ...
7
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1answer
260 views
What was the source of uncertainty on the Starman ejection burn?
After the launch and six-hour cruise, the Falcon Heavy’s upper stage will fire a third time to send the Tesla into a cycling orbit between Earth and Mars. This should take the Tesla out as far as the ...
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0answers
305 views
What is Elon Musk's Roadster orbital period? [duplicate]
On February 6th, 2018, SpaceX launched Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster to an elliptical heliocentric orbit as a dummy payload of the initial flight test of the new Falcon Heavy rocket.
What is the ...
3
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1answer
443 views
Will the Tesla Roadster/Falcon 9H 2nd stage ever be a navigation hazard to cis-lunar space?
The saying "What goes around, comes around" can apply to spacecraft on ballistic trajectories that are launched from Earth into bound heliocentric orbits. Since the Tesla Roadster/Falcon 9H 2nd stage'...
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1answer
142 views
Tesla Near Mars Orbit
When will the Tesla Roadster come into a near Mars orbit as shown in the SpaceX simulation shown in Elon Musk's tweet? Is it 10 years, 20 years or when?
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1answer
2k views
How close will Starman return past Earth? [closed]
Will Starman return past Earth? Surely SpaceX just can't say whoops, sorry, we missed our Mars orbit target and there's a chance Starman will come back near earth down the track?
Does SpaceX submit ...
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2answers
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How long will it take for Starman to complete one orbit of the sun?
I have seen that the original estimate to pass by Mars was about 6 months, but the current trajectory overshot Mars by quite a bit. How long until Starman and the Roadster return to complete their ...
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2answers
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How close will the Tesla Roadster with Starman actually get to Mars?
I know the long term outlook is quite difficult to say, but how close will the Tesla Roadster actually get to Mars on it's first orbit around the Sun?
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1answer
1k views
How long will the Tesla Roadster's heliocentric orbit last?
The long term prospects for the integrity of the Roadster and to a lesser extent its seat belted occupant have been addressed in the answers and discussion below Can I drive Elon Musk's Tesla after it'...
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1answer
6k views
In Starman's roadster, where's the Towel?
Did Starman forget his towel? A towel is the essential thing every explorer needs to carry, right? Can't get very far without it.
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1answer
1k views
Starman and Roadster: Position and camera [closed]
We have a camera showing Starman, but no way to have the position ? At least distance from earth ?
How long till the camera stops or is out of range ?
