Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster - wikipedia Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster Sports car launched into space in 2018 Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster The Roadster in a parking orbit above Earth, prior to departing Earth 's gravity well on a trans - Mars injection heliocentric orbit Names SpaceX Roadster Starman Mission type Test flight Operator SpaceX COSPAR ID 2018 - 017A SATCAT no. 43205 Spacecraft properties Spacecraft type 2008 Tesla Roadster used as a mass simulator, attached to the upper stage of a Falcon Heavy rocket Manufacturer Tesla and SpaceX Launch mass ~ 1,300 kg ( 2,900 lb ) ; ~ 6,000 kg ( 13,000 lb ) including rocket upper stage Start of mission Launch date 20 : 45 : 00, February 6, 2018 ( 2018 - 02 - 06T20 : 45 : 00 ) Rocket Falcon Heavy FH - 001 Launch site Kennedy LC - 39A Orbital parameters Reference system Heliocentric Eccentricity 0.25571 Perihelion 0.98613 au ( 147,523,000 km ) Aphelion 1.6637 au ( 248,890,000 km ) Inclination 1.077 ° Period 1.525 year Epoch 1 May 2018 Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car that was the dummy payload for the Falcon Heavy test flight in February 2018. Starman, a mannequin dressed in a spacesuit, occupies the driver 's seat. The 2008 Tesla Roadster car and Falcon Heavy rocket are products of Elon Musk 's companies, Tesla and SpaceX. This electric car was previously used by Musk for commuting, and it is the only consumer car sent into space. The rocket 's second stage, with the car attached, imparted sufficient velocity to escape Earth 's gravity and enter an elliptical heliocentric orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. The orbit reaches a maximum distance from the Sun at aphelion of 1.66 astronomical units ( au ). During the early portion of its voyage, the combination sent live video back to Earth for slightly over four hours. Advertising analysts lauded Musk 's sense of brand management and effective use of new media for his decision to launch a Tesla Roadster into space. Some commenters were concerned that the car contributes to space debris, and others perceived it as a work of art. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Roadster payload 2 Trajectory 3 Cultural impact 4 Reactions 4.1 Marketing move 4.2 Work of art 4.3 Space debris 5 Orbit tracking 5.1 Future predictions 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Background Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster in a parking space outside SpaceX in 2010 In March 2017, Musk stated that the launch of the new Falcon Heavy vehicle was risky, so it would carry the `` silliest thing we can imagine ''. On December 1, 2017 he said that the payload would be his personal Roadster, subsequently verifying that he was not joking. On December 22, Musk published pictures of the car taken before payload encapsulation. Traditionally, concrete or steel blocks are used as ballast in risky test flights. SpaceX wanted to demonstrate that their new rocket could carry a payload as far as the orbit of Mars. They reportedly had offered NASA to carry a scientific payload, but these plans did not come to fruition. This Roadster became the first consumer car sent into space. Three manned rovers were sent to space on the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions in the 1970s and these vehicles were left on the Moon. Roadster payload The first - generation Tesla Roadster is an all - electric sports car. The red Roadster launched into space is one of Elon Musk 's privately owned vehicles. Musk said in a 2012 interview that the Roadster was `` the one I drive to work ''. The car was installed in the Falcon Heavy rocket at an inclined position above the payload adapter in order to account for the mass distribution. `` Starman '', a mannequin, seated in the Roadster A number of whimsical objects were included in the Roadster. Positioned in the driver 's seat is `` Starman '', a full - scale human mannequin named after the David Bowie song `` Starman '' and clad in SpaceX 's pressure spacesuit. The mannequin has its right hand on the steering wheel and left elbow resting on the open window sill. The car 's sound system was looping the Bowie song `` Space Oddity '' as a symbolic gesture even though the car 's speakers can not emit sound in space. There is a copy of Douglas Adams ' 1979 novel The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy in the glovebox, along with references to the book in the form of a towel and a sign on the dashboard that reads `` Do n't Panic ! ''. A Hot Wheels miniature Roadster with a miniature Starman is mounted on the dashboard. A plaque bearing the names of the employees who worked on the project is underneath the car, and a message on the vehicle 's circuit board reads `` Made on Earth by humans ''. A copy of Isaac Asimov 's Foundation trilogy on a 5D optical data storage disc was included -- the disk holds 360 terabytes but the books only comprised 3 megabytes. It was created by the Arch Mission Foundation and added at the last minute after Musk was informed that the disk, previously created as a proof of concept and never intended to be launched into space, was available -- Musk was a fan of the trilogy. The Roadster is attached to a Merlin 1D Vacuum second stage with extended nozzle by a payload attachment fitting. Trajectory Main article : Falcon Heavy test flight Falcon Heavy liftoff from pad LC - 39A Orbit of the Roadster, with the planets of the inner Solar System for context. Its aphelion is ~ 250 million kilometres ( 1.66 au ). A license for the launch was issued by the US Office of Commercial Space Transportation on February 2, 2018. The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 15 : 45 EST ( 20 : 45 UTC ) on February 6, 2018, and was initially placed in Earth parking orbit while remaining attached to the Falcon Heavy second stage. After a longer - than - usual six - hour coast phase through the Van Allen radiation belts, thereby demonstrating a new capability requested by the U.S. Air Force for direct geostationary orbit ( GEO ) insertion of heavy intelligence satellites, the second stage reignited for the Earth - escape trajectory. Like all its previous launches, SpaceX live streamed a video feed. It started at the rocket 's launch, and once in space showed the Roadster at different angles from cameras mounted inside and outside the car. SpaceX did not say how long the feed was to run, and Musk had said the car 's battery would last for about twelve hours, but the live stream actually ran for just over four hours, thus ending before the final boost out of Earth orbit. The images were released by SpaceX into the public domain on its Flickr account. Following the launch, the car and rocket booster were given the Satellite Catalog Number 43205, named `` TESLA ROADSTER / FALCON 9H '', along with the COSPAR designation 2018 - 017A. The JPL Horizons system publishes solutions for the trajectory as target body `` - 143205 ''. The Roadster remains attached to the Falcon second stage. The car was launched into an heliocentric orbit that will cross the orbit of Mars and reach a distance of 1.66 au from the Sun. With an inclination of roughly 1 degree to the ecliptic plane, compared to Mars ' 1.85 ° inclination, the trajectory by design can not intercept Mars, so the car will not fly by Mars nor enter an orbit around Mars. This was the second object launched by SpaceX to leave Earth orbit ( after the DSCOVR mission to Sun -- Earth L ). Even if the launch had targeted an actual Mars transfer orbit, the Falcon Heavy upper stage, which is still attached to the car, lacks the propellant, maneuvering, and communications capabilities required to enter Mars orbit. Launching the Roadster into this orbit has demonstrated that Falcon Heavy can launch payloads that could reach Mars. The car and second stage combination is moving away from Earth at a speed of 12,908 km / h ( 8,021 mph ). The maximum speed of the car relative to the Sun will be close to 121,600 km / h ( 75,600 mph ) at perihelion. Cultural impact The car in space quickly became a topic for Internet memes. Western Australia Police distributed a picture of a Radar gun aimed at the Roadster whilst above Australia. Škoda produced a parody video of a Škoda Superb being driven to Mars ( a village in central France ). An attempt was made by Donut Media to launch a Hot Wheels - sized Tesla Model X to the stratosphere using a weather balloon. Some news reports observed a similarity between the real pictures of a car orbiting the Earth and the title sequence of the 1981 animation film Heavy Metal, where a space traveler lands on Earth in a two - seater Chevrolet Corvette convertible. The SpaceX launch live stream reached over 2.3 million concurrent viewers on YouTube, which makes it the second most watched live event on the platform as of 2018, being surpassed only by the Red Bull Stratos jump in 2012. Reactions The choice of this car as a dummy payload was variously interpreted as a shrewd marketing move for Tesla, a work of art, or a contribution to space debris. Marketing move Musk was lauded as a visionary marketer and brand manager by controlling both the timing and the content of his corporate public relations. After the launch, Scientific American said using a car was not entirely pointless, in the sense that something of that size and weight was necessary for a meaningful test. `` Thematically, it was a perfect fit '' to use the Tesla car, and there was no reason not to take the opportunity to remind the auto industry that Musk was challenging the status quo in that arena, as well as in space. Advertising Age agreed with Business Insider that the Roadster space launch was the `` greatest ever car commercial without a dime spent on advertising '', demonstrating that Musk is `` miles ahead of the rest '' in reaching young consumers, where `` mere mortals scrabble about spending millions to fight each other over seconds of air time '', Musk `` just executes his vision. '' Alex Hern, technology reporter for The Guardian, said the choice to launch a car was a `` hybrid of genuine breakthrough and nerd - baiting publicity stunt '' without `` any real point beyond generating good press pics '', which should not detract from the much more important technological milestone represented by the launch of the rocket itself. Lori Garver, a former NASA deputy director initially said the choice of payload for the Falcon Heavy maiden flight is a gimmick and a loss of opportunity to further advance science -- but later clarified that `` I was told by a SpaceX VP ( vice president ) at the launch that they offered free launches to NASA, Air Force etc. but got no takers. '' Work of art Final image from the Roadster Alice Gorman, a lecturer in archaeology and space studies at Flinders University, Australia, said that its primary purpose is symbolic communication, that `` the red sports car symbolises masculinity -- power, wealth and speed -- but also how fragile masculinity is ''. Drawing on anthropological theories of symbols, she argues that `` The car is also an armour against dying, a talisman that quells a profound fear of mortality. '' Gorman wrote that `` the spacesuit is also about death. (... ) The Starman was never alive, but now he 's haunting space. '' The Verge likened the Roadster to a `` Readymade '' work of art, such as Marcel Duchamp 's 1917 piece Fountain, created by placing an everyday object in an unusual position, context and orientation. Space debris Orbital - debris expert Darren McKnight said that since the car is out of Earth orbit, he sees no risk here, and added : `` The enthusiasm and interest that ( Musk ) generates more than offsets the infinitesimally small ' littering ' of the cosmos. '' Tommy Sanford, director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, opined that the car and its rocket stage are no more `` space junk '' than the mundane material usually launched on other test flights. Mass simulators are often deliberately placed in a graveyard orbit or sent on a deep space trajectory, where they are not a hazard. Hugh Lewis, an expert in space debris at the University of Southampton, tweeted `` Intentionally launching a car to a long - lived orbit is not what you want to hear from a company planning to fly 1000s satellites in LEO. '' The Planetary Society was concerned that launching a non-sterile object to interplanetary space may risk biological contamination of a planetary object. Scientists at Purdue University thought it was the `` dirtiest '' man - made object ever sent into space, in terms of bacteria amount, noting the car had previously driven on Los Angeles freeways. Although the vehicle will be sterilized by solar radiation over time, they are concerned some bacteria might live on in pieces of plastic which could contaminate Mars in the distant future. Orbit tracking The car and second stage were passivated by intentionally removing remaining chemical and electrical energy, at which point the car and rocket booster ceased transmitting telemetry. Based on optical observations made using a robotic telescope at the Warrumbungle Observatory, Dubbo, Australia and refinement of the orbit, a close re-encounter with Earth ( originally predicted for 2073 ) is not possible. In 2020, the car will pass about 6.9 million kilometers ( 4.3 million miles ) from Mars, well outside Mars ' gravitational sphere of influence. The Virtual Telescope Project observed the Tesla two days after its launch, where it had a magnitude of 15.5, comparable to Pluto 's moon Charon. The Roadster was automatically spotted and logged by the Asteroid Terrestrial - impact Last Alert System ( ATLAS ) telescope operated by the University of Hawaii. The car was observed by the Deimos Sky Survey ( DeSS ) at a distance of 720,000 kilometres ( 450,000 mi ) with a flashing effect suggesting spinning. Roadster photographed with a 0.43 m telescope of Dubbo Observatory in Australia, on 8 February 2018, 16 : 29 -- 16 : 50 UTC, at a distance of 550,000 km ( 1.4 Lunar distances ) from Earth. Varying brightness suggests spinning. Through measuring changes in apparent brightness of the object, astronomers have determined that the Roadster is rotating with a period of 4.7589 + / - 0.0060 minutes. By February 11, 2018, astrometry measurements from 241 independent observations had been collated, refining the positions to within one - tenth of an arcsecond -- more accurate than for most observations of objects in space. Future predictions Simulations over a 3 - million - year timespan found a probability of the Roadster colliding with Earth at approximately 6 %, or with Venus at approximately 2.5 %. These probabilities of collision are similar to those of other near - Earth objects. The half - life for the tested orbits was calculated as approximately 20 million years, but with trajectories varying significantly following a close approach to the Earth -- Moon system in 2091. Musk had originally speculated that the car could drift in space for a billion years. According to chemist William Carroll, solar radiation, cosmic radiation, and micrometeoroid impacts will structurally damage the car over time. Radiation will eventually break down any material with carbon -- carbon bonds, including carbon fiber parts. Tires, paint, plastic and leather might last only about a year, while carbon fiber parts will last considerably longer. Eventually, only the aluminum frame, inert metals, and glass not shattered by meteoroids will remain. See also Wikinews has related news : SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasts Elon Musk 's personal Tesla into solar orbit List of artificial objects in heliocentric orbit List of passive satellites Cars portal Spaceflight portal References ^ Jump up to : Miley, Jessica ( February 9, 2018 ). `` NASA Officially Lists Elon Musk 's Floating Tesla Roadster As a Celestial Object ''. Interesting Engineering. Retrieved February 14, 2018. JPL designated the artificial object as `` Tesla Roadster ( Starman, 2018 - 017A ) '' Jump up ^ Kyle, Ed. `` SpaceX Falcon Heavy Data Sheet ''. www.spacelaunchreport.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Tesla Roadster ( spacecraft ) ( solution # 10 ) ''. 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Jump up ^ Mosher, Dave ( February 9, 2018 ), `` Launching Elon Musk 's car toward Mars was a backup plan -- here 's what SpaceX actually wanted to do with Falcon Heavy 's first flight '', Business Insider Jump up ^ `` The First Car in Space ''. December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle ''. NASA. November 15, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Falcon Heavy to Launch Next Month, Musk Says He 's Sending His Roadster to Mars ''. Tesla Motors Club. Retrieved February 6, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Elon Musk ( @ elonmusk ) ( December 2, 2017 ). `` Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it does n't blow up on ascent '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved February 20, 2018 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Musk, Elon ( March 27, 2012 ). `` Driving with Elon Musk : Tesla 's Iron Man Behind the Wheel ''. Forbes Life ( Interview ). 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Jump up ^ @ tiamaria68uk ( December 8, 2017 ). `` Will the glove box contain `` The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy '' ? '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved December 8, 2017 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Elon Musk ( @ elonmusk ) ( December 8, 2017 ). `` Yes '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved December 8, 2017 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Elon Musk ( @ elonmusk ) ( December 8, 2017 ). `` Plus a towel and a sign saying ' Do n't Panic ' '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved December 8, 2017 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` Elon Musk on Instagram : `` Printed on the circuit board of a car in deep space '' ``. Instagram. Jump up ^ Chris Taylor ( February 9, 2018 ). `` Forget the Tesla, Elon Musk launched the first books in an ever - lasting space library ''. Mashable. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Home ''. Arch Mission. Jump up ^ Eric Olson ( February 14, 2018 ). `` Backing Up Humanity : First Arch Launched on Falcon Heavy ''. IEEE GlobalSpec. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Object Data Page Solution # 8 ''. roadster. space. JPL 's HORIZONS system. Retrieved 3 April 2018. ^ Jump up to : Wong, Kenneth ; Office of Commercial Space Transportation ( February 2, 2018 ). License Number : LLS 18 - 107 ( PDF ) ( Report ). Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018. Space Exploration Technologies is authorized... flight of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center ( KSC ) transporting the modified Tesla Roadster ( mass simulator ) to a hyperbolic orbit CS1 maint : Unfit url ( link ) Jump up ^ Brinkmann & Santana. `` SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch live coverage : Liftoff successful ''. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Jump up ^ Gebhardt, Chris. `` SpaceX set to debut Falcon Heavy in demonstration launch from KSC -- NASASpaceFlight.com ''. NASAspaceflight.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Jump up ^ Berger, Eric. `` Elon Musk says the Falcon Heavy has a 50 - 50 chance of success ''. Ars Technica. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Jump up ^ Boyle, Alan ( February 6, 2018 ). `` Elon Musk explains why SpaceX 's Falcon Heavy rocket is risky -- and revolutionary ''. GeekWire. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Jump up ^ Weitering, Hanneke ( February 6, 2018 ). `` Watch Live Views of SpaceX 's Starman Riding a Tesla Roadster in Space ! ''. Space.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Jump up ^ `` This is what a Tesla Roadster looks like floating through space ''. CNBC. February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018. Jump up ^ Foust, Jeff ( @ jeff_foust ) ( February 5, 2018 ). `` Musk : will be three cameras mounted on the Roadster, should provide `` epic views '' if all goes well '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Michael Zhang ( February 8, 2018 ). `` This is the Last Photo of the Tesla That 's Flying Away From Earth ''. PetaPixel. Retrieved February 18, 2018. The photo was shared by billionaire Elon Musk on Instagram and SpaceX on Flickr. As you might remember, SpaceX began publishing all of its Flickr photos to the public domain in March 2015, leading Flickr to add a public domain designation just days later. Jump up ^ Molly Brown ( March 23, 2015 ). `` Elon Musk makes SpaceX photos free for public use ''. GeekWire. Retrieved February 18, 2018. Jump up ^ `` TESLA ROADSTER / FALCON 9H ''. N2YO.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018. Jump up ^ McDowell, Jonathan ( @ planet4589 ) ( February 8, 2018 ). `` I now have confirmation that the Tesla remains attached to the Falcon 2nd stage, which is being observed by asteroid experts '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved February 11, 2018 -- via Twitter. ^ Jump up to : Plait, Phil. `` Elon Musk : On the Roadster to Mars ''. Syfy Wire. Retrieved December 7, 2017. Jump up ^ Where is Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster ?. A web site tracking the car 's position in orbit. February 2018. Jump up ^ Bayle, Alfred ( 7 February 2018 ). `` Tesla Roadster in space becomes internet 's new favorite meme ''. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 10 February 2018. Jump up ^ Ilona ( 7 February 2018 ). `` 20 + Of The Funniest Reactions To Elon Musk Sending Tesla Car To Mars ''. Bored Panda. Retrieved 15 February 2018. Jump up ^ `` Hilarisch : Australische politie slingert ruimte - Tesla op de bon vanwege hoge snelheid '' ( Hilarious : Australian Police send orbiting Tesla a speeding ticket ). RTL Nieuws ( in Dutch ). 7 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018. Jump up ^ Western Australia Police ( @ WA_Police ) ( 7 February 2018 ). `` Ticket 's in the post mate... 😉 # AnywhereAnytime # WAPoliceForce # FalconHeavy '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved 16 February 2018 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Padeanu, Adrian ( February 14, 2018 ). `` Skoda Releases Video Proof Of Sending Superb To Mars ''. Motor1.com. Retrieved February 15, 2018. Jump up ^ Škoda France ( 14 February 2018 ). # MissionToMars ( in English and French ). Retrieved 15 February 2018 -- via Youtube. Jump up ^ Patel, Joel V. ( 27 February 2018 ). `` Launching A Tesla Model X Toy Car Into Space Is Insanely Difficult, Incredibly Hilarious ''. Carscoops. Retrieved 27 February 2018. Jump up ^ Donut Media ( 25 February 2018 ). We Tried to Launch a Tesla to Space Too. Retrieved 27 February 2018 -- via Youtube. Jump up ^ Cross, Alan ( February 7, 2018 ). `` A Canadian - American predicted what Elon Musk 's rocket roadster did yesterday -- in 1981 ! ''. CFNY - FM. Retrieved February 11, 2018. picture is not fake... photo is from space... resemblance to the opening sequence of a Canadian - American adult animated movie from 1981 called Heavy Metal Jump up ^ DeBord, Matthew ( February 10, 2018 ). `` The Falcon Heavy Roadster Launch reveals how Tesla and SpaceX are already beginning to merge ''. Business Insider UK. Retrieved February 11, 2018. Roadster orbiting Earth... like something out of the... opening sequence from the 1981 grownup animated movie `` Heavy Metal '' Jump up ^ Singleton, Micah ( 6 February 2018 ). `` SpaceX 's Falcon Heavy launch was YouTube 's second biggest live stream ever ''. The Verge. Retrieved 23 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : Billings, Lee ( February 6, 2018 ), `` Elon Musk Does It Again ; His Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off on the first try, puts a Tesla auto into orbit -- and maybe changes the business of space commerce and exploration forever '', Scientific American, archived from the original on February 9, 2018 ^ Jump up to : Wnek, Mark ( February 8, 2018 ), `` There 's Advertising and Marketing, and Then There 's Elon Musk '', Advertising Age ^ Jump up to : Matousek, Mark ( February 7, 2018 ), `` Tesla created the world 's best car commercial without spending a dime on advertising '', Business Insider Jump up ^ `` The mega-rich have ambitious plans to improve the world ; Should that be a cause for celebration or concern ? '', The Economist, February 8, 2018 Jump up ^ Hern, Alex ( February 7, 2018 ), `` Forget the car in space : why Elon Musk 's reusable rockets are more than a publicity stunt ; The onboard Tesla Roadster grabbed the headlines, but the real success of this week 's space adventure was the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle '', The Guardian, archived from the original on February 7, 2018 Jump up ^ Richards, Alexandra ( February 9, 2018 ). `` Elon Musk 's SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch was just a gimmick, says former NASA boss Lori Garver ''. Evening Standard. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018. Jump up ^ Tesla Roadster gets Interplanetary ID. Leonard David. Space. 9 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : Gorman, Alice ; Flinders University ( 2018 - 02 - 07 ). `` A sports car and a glitter ball are now in space -- what does that say about us as humans ? ''. The Conversation. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 15. Jump up ^ Chayka, Kyle ( February 10, 2018 ). `` Elon Musk made history launching a car into space. Did he make art too ? ''. a staggering image... and so impressive that the video seems somehow unreal. It 's the greatest car ad of all time.... In 1917, Marcel Duchamp put a urinal on a pedestal, titled it Fountain... and called it art.... a readymade, his word for a combination of everyday objects reassembled or re-contextualized by an artist. Jump up ^ Is the Tesla Roadster Flying on the Falcon Heavy 's Maiden Flight Just Space Junk ?. Leonard David, Space, 5 February 2018. Jump up ^ Kaufman, Mark ( February 8, 2018 ). `` Elon Musk 's ' Starman ' Tesla Roadster is n't your typical piece of space junk ''. Mashable. Retrieved February 15, 2018. Jump up ^ What you need to know about SpaceX 's Falcon Heavy launch. Conor Dillon, Deutsche Welle -- Science. 6 February 2018. Jump up ^ Let 's talk about Elon Musk launching his Tesla into space. Jason Davis, The Planetary Society. 5 February 2018. Jump up ^ Staff - Purdue University ( February 27, 2018 ). `` Tesla in space could carry bacteria from Earth ''. phys.org. Retrieved February 28, 2018. Jump up ^ David Szondy ( February 28, 2018 ). `` The Tesla Roadster could be the dirtiest manmade object in space ''. New Atlas. Retrieved February 28, 2018. Jump up ^ Langbroek, Marco ; Starr, Peter ( 9 February 2018 ). `` Starman ( Falcon Heavy / Tesla Roadster ) 2018 - 017A imaged in Space ''. Retrieved 9 February 2018. images were taken, 16 : 39 - 16 : 50 UT on 8 February 2018... distance of 550 000 km or about 1.4 Lunar distances c.q. 0.0037 AU... 30 - second exposures taken by Peter Starr and me with the 0.43 - m F6. 8 remote robotic telescope of Dubbo Observatory in Australia... 2073 close encounter... is no longer on the table. Jump up ^ Elon Musk 's Tesla overshot Mars ' orbit, but it wo n't reach the asteroid belt as claimed. Loren Grush, The Verge. 8 February 2018. Jump up ^ Masi, Gianluca ( February 8, 2018 ). `` Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster imaged and filmed ! ''. virtualtelescope.eu. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018. Jump up ^ Denneau, Larry ( 8 February 2018 ). `` UH ATLAS telescope spots SpaceX Tesla Roadster in flight '' ( Press release ). Retrieved 11 February 2018. ATLAS was not looking for the Roadster -- it was found during routine observations and automatically identified as a near - Earth object. Jump up ^ `` New images of SpaceX 's Starman Tesla ''. Elecnor Deimos. 2018 - 02 - 09. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 11. captured the vehicle at a distance of 720.000 km from Earth... show a flickering effect that suggests that the Tesla Roadster is spinning fast. Jump up ^ `` Here 's Exactly How Fast Elon Musk 's Tesla Is Spinning In Space ''. February 13, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Gray, Bill ( 2018 - 02 - 11 ). `` Re : Tesla roadster and booster observations '' -- via SeeSat - L mailing list. list of 241 observations and growing... continue to be observed for about two weeks.... know the position of this object to better than a tenth of an arcsecond,... Almost nobody is getting data that accurate. ^ Jump up to : Rein, Hanno ; Tamayo, Daniel ; Vokrouhlicky, David ( 13 February 2018 ). `` The random walk of cars and their collision probabilities with planets ''. arXiv : 1802.04718 ( astro - ph. EP ). ^ Jump up to : Lezter, Rafi. `` Radiation Will Tear Elon Musk 's Rocket Car to Bits in a Year ''. LiveScience. Retrieved February 7, 2018. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster. Views of Starman on YouTube Photographic animation of Roadster moving across the sky, at Wikimedia Commons Where is Tesla Roadster in Space, real - time orbit of the Roadster Where is Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster with Starman ?, a fan website. Video of the Roadster cruising through space on YouTube Elon Musk Companies Zip2 ( 1995 -- 1999 ) PayPal ( 1999 -- 2002 ) SpaceX ( 2002 -- present ) Tesla, Inc. ( 2004 -- present ) SolarCity ( 2006 -- present ) OpenAI ( 2015 -- present ) Neuralink ( 2016 -- present ) The Boring Company ( 2016 -- present ) Other endeavors Hyperloop Musk electric jet Wet Nellie Roadster in space Family Maye Musk ( mother ) Justine Musk ( first wife ) Talulah Riley ( second wife ) Kimbal Musk ( brother ) Tosca Musk ( sister ) Lyndon Rive ( cousin ) Related Elon Musk : Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Category WikiQuote Commons Tesla, Inc. People Elon Musk ( CEO, Chief Product Architect ) J.B. Straubel ( CTO ) Franz von Holzhausen ( Chief Designer ) Martin Eberhard ( co-founder, inaugural CEO ) Marc Tarpenning ( co-founder, inaugural CFO ) Products Current vehicles Model S Model X Model 3 Discontinued vehicles Roadster ( 2008 ) Future vehicles Model Y Semi Roadster ( 2020 ) Other Powerwall Autopilot Solar Roof Collaborations Mercedes A-Class E-Cell Mercedes B - Class Electric Drive Smart electric drive RAV4 EV Second generation Facilities Tesla Factory Gigafactories 1 ( Clark, NV ) 2 ( Buffalo, NY ) Proposed Europe factory Superchargers and battery - swapping stations Other History Timeline Dealership disputes SolarCity Roadster in space Category Spacecraft missions to Mars Current Flybys Mars Cube One ( en route ) Orbiters ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Mangalyaan Mars Express Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter MAVEN 2001 Mars Odyssey Landers InSight ( en route ) Rovers Curiosity timeline Opportunity observations Past Flybys Dawn Mariner 4 Mariner 6 Mariner 7 Mars 1 Mars 6 Mars 7 Nozomi Rosetta Zond 2 Orbiters Mariner 9 Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 4 Mars 5 Mars Climate Orbiter Mars Global Surveyor Mars Observer Phobos program Phobos 1 Phobos 2 Viking program Viking 1 Viking 2 Landers Beagle 2 ExoMars Schiaparelli Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Mars 7 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 Phoenix Viking 1 Viking 2 Rovers Prop - M Sojourner Spirit observations Tests Crossed Mars orbit : Zond 3 Elon Musk 's Tesla Roadster Failed launch Fobos - Grunt / Yinghuo - 1 Kosmos 419 1M No. 1 1M No. 2 2MV - 4 No. 1 2MV - 3 No. 1 Mariner 3 2M No. 521 2M No. 522 Mariner 8 Mars 96 Planned Hope Mars Mission ( 2020 ) ExoMars ( 2020 ) rover surface platform Mars 2020 ( 2020 ) Mars Helicopter Scout Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover ( 2020 ) Mars Terahertz Microsatellite ( 2020 ) Mars Orbiter Mission 2 ( 2021 or 2022 ) Psyche ( 2023, flyby only ) MMX ( 2024 ) Proposed BOLD Icebreaker Life Inspiration Mars Mars 2022 Mars Geyser Hopper Mars - Grunt Mars Micro Orbiter ‎ Mars One Mars sample return mission MELOS rover MetNet Northern Light PADME Phootprint SCIM Sky - Sailor Cancelled / concepts ARES Astrobiology Field Laboratory Beagle 3 Mars 4NM & 5NM Mars 5M ( Mars - 79 ) Mars - Aster Mars Astrobiology Explorer - Cacher Mars Surveyor Lander Mars Telecommunications Orbiter NetLander Red Dragon Vesta Voyager Related Colonization of Mars Exploration of Mars List of artificial objects on Mars List of Mars orbiters Mars race Terraforming of Mars indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. Falcon rocket launches SpaceX Falcon rocket family Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1. 0 v1. 1 Full Thrust Block 5 Falcon Heavy Falcon 1 missions Demo 1 † ( FalconSAT - 2 ) Demo 2 † Flight 3 † Trailblazer PRESat NanoSail - D Explorers Ratsat RazakSAT Falcon 9 missions Demonstration flights Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit NASA COTS Demo Flight 1 Dragon C2+ SpX - DM1 SpX - DM2 Dragon ISS logistics CRS - 1 CRS - 2 CRS - 3 CRS - 4 CRS - 5 CRS - 6 CRS - 7 † CRS - 8 CRS - 9 CRS - 10 CRS - 11 CRS - 12 CRS - 13 CRS - 14 CRS - 15 CRS - 16 CRS - 17 CRS - 18 CRS - 19 CRS - 20 ( missions contracted up to CRS - 26 ) Commercial satellites SES - 8 Thaicom 6 Orbcomm OG2 × 6 AsiaSat 8 AsiaSat 6 ABS - 3A / Eutelsat 115 West B TürkmenÄlem 52 ° E Orbcomm OG2 × 11 SES - 9 JCSAT - 14 Thaicom 8 ABS - 2A / Eutelsat 117 West B JCSAT - 16 Amos - 6 † Iridium NEXT 1 -- 10 EchoStar 23 SES - 10 Inmarsat - 5 F4 BulgariaSat - 1 Iridium NEXT 11 -- 20 Intelsat 35e Iridium NEXT 21 -- 30 SES - 11 Koreasat 5A Iridium NEXT 31 -- 40 Hispasat 30W - 6 Iridium NEXT 41 -- 50 Bangabandhu - 1 Iridium NEXT 51 -- 55 SES - 12 Telstar 19V Iridium NEXT 56 -- 65 Telstar 18V Telkom 4 Es'hail 2 Iridium NEXT 66 -- 75 SSO - A Scientific satellites CASSIOPE DSCOVR Jason - 3 Formosat - 5 TESS GRACE - FO SAOCOM 1A RADARSAT Constellation Military satellites NROL - 76 X-37B OTV - 5 Zuma GovSat - 1 Paz GPS IIIA - 01 Falcon Heavy missions Test flight Tesla Roadster USAF STP - 2 DSX FormoSat - 7 LightSail 2 GPIM DSAC ISAT ArabSat 6A ViaSat 3 Italics indicate future missions and vehicles under development. † denotes failed missions and destroyed vehicles. ← 2017 Orbital launches in 2018 2019 → January USA - 280 / Zuma -- SuperView / Gaojing - 1 03 04 -- BeiDou - 3 M3 M4 -- Cartosat - 2F Microsat INS - 1C PicSat ICEYE - X1 -- LKW - 3 -- ASNARO - 2 -- Jilin 1 07 08 Xiaoxiang Zhou Enlai Kepler Quantutong - 1 -- USA - 282 / SBIRS - GEO - 4 -- Dove Pioneer Lemur - 2 × 2 Humanity Star -- Yaogan 30 - 04A 30 - 04B 30 - 04C -- SES - 14 Al Yah 3 -- GovSat - 1 / SES - 16 February Kanopus - V 3 4 -- CSES ÑuSat 4, 5 -- TRICOM - 1R -- Falcon Heavy test flight ( Tesla Roadster ) -- BeiDou - 3 MEO - 3 MEO - 4 -- Progress MS - 08 -- Paz Tintin A & B -- IGS - Optical 6 March GOES - 17 -- Hispasat 30W - 6 -- O3b × 4 ( FM13 to FM16 ) -- Soyuz MS - 08 -- GSAT - 6A -- EMKA -- BeiDou - 3 M5 M6 -- Iridium NEXT 41 -- 50 -- Gaofen - 1 - 02 03 04 April SpaceX CRS - 14 1KUNS - PF Irazú UBAKUSAT -- Superbird - B3 HYLAS - 4 -- Yaogan 31 - 01A 31 - 01B 31 - 01C WEINA 1B -- IRNSS - 1I -- AFSPC - 11 EAGLE -- Blagovest - 12L -- TESS -- Sentinel - 3B -- Zhuhai - 1 × 5 May Apstar 6C -- InSight MarCO A, B -- Gaofen - 5 -- Bangabandhu - 1 -- Chang'e 4 Relay -- Cygnus CRS OA - 9E -- Iridium NEXT 51 -- 55 GRACE - FO × 2 Launches are separated by dashes ( -- ), payloads by dots ( ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). CubeSats are smaller. Manned flights are bolded. Launch failures are in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are ( enclosed in brackets ). Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elon_Musk%27s_Tesla_Roadster&oldid=841469415 '' Categories : Individual automobiles Tesla Inc. vehicles SpaceX Elon Musk Derelict satellites in heliocentric orbit Message artifacts Spacecraft launched in 2018 Spacecraft launched by Falcon rockets Found object Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Unfit url CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Articles with short description Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages Use mdy dates from February 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Eesti Español Français Latviešu Magyar Português Русский Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 16 May 2018, at 01 : 50. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: when was the tesla roadster launched into space
Answer: 15:45 EST (20:45 UTC) on February 6, 2018