13/09/2019 One Year On, the Falcon Heavy's Successful Launch Is Still Incredible

  SUBSCRIBE

One Year On, the Falcon Heavy's Successful

Launch Is Still Incredible
There's just nothing quite like that booster-landing ballet.

By David Grossman Feb 6, 2019

SPACEX / YOUTUBE

One year ago today, the world was glued to its screens watching Elon Musk's
biggest test yet: the Falcon Heavy's first launch. Years in the making, the launch
cemented SpaceX's initial lead in the new space race with the success of the most
powerful rocket in the world, complete with booster-landing ballet.

Falcon Heavy & Starman

https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a26208288/falcon-heavy-anniversary-star-man-elon-musk/ 1/6
13/09/2019 One Year On, the Falcon Heavy's Successful Launch Is Still Incredible

After NASA rejected carrying a scientific payload on the test, which had to show it
could transport an object to Mars, Musk decided on the gimmick-y backup option of
his own personal car. The launch became YouTube's second-most-livestreamed
event. Tesla also streamed the car, with three cameras mounted inside, giving close-
ups of a dummy known as Starman for four hours of its flight through space. It has
currently garnered over 16 million views.

Live Views of Starman

The Roadster wasn't just a roadster—Starman was named after David Bowie, and the
car was outfitted with Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy swag,
and even included copies of Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels loaded on an
experimental technology known as 5D laser optical storage.

But reactions to the stunt weren't all positive. "It feeds into a cult of personality which
is at odds with the 'space for all humanity' narrative that we in the space world
frequently use to justify space exploration," commented Alice Gorman at the College
of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in Australia and an
expert on space debris.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a26208288/falcon-heavy-anniversary-star-man-elon-musk/ 2/6
13/09/2019 One Year On, the Falcon Heavy's Successful Launch Is Still Incredible

"And let's face it, there's no getting away from the fact that a red sports car is all
about boys and their toys. The car is a signifier of wealth and masculinity. We've
been trying so hard to leave behind the era where the archetypal astronaut was an
elite white male, and we've just stepped right back into it."

In the year since the Falcon Heavy test and Roadster launch Musk has sold
flamethrowers and gotten into needless Twitter arguments. But SpaceX's rocketry
continues to push the limits, especially with tests already beginning for the rocket
intended to replace the Falcon Heavy—the Starship, formerly known as the BFR.

While not quite ready for a full-blown test, the Starship test model, known as a
hopper, is prepared to launch soon. It has faced some adversity because of strong
winds in SpaceX's Texas test site but should be ready to start trials relatively soon.
Whether Musk can top himself is anyone's guess, but future launches can
undoubtedly expect the same level of showmanship.

WATCH NEXT
A Look Inside New Balance's Massachusetts Factory

WATCH: A Look Inside New Balance's Massachusetts Factory

https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a26208288/falcon-heavy-anniversary-star-man-elon-musk/ 3/6