SpaceX has launched a Tesla Roadster into space on a journey to Mars from Florida, as a test of its new Falcon¹ Heavy rocket.

 

美国太空探索技术公司将一辆特斯拉Roadster送入太空，以测试其新型猎鹰重型火箭。

 

The novel payload is being used to gather data on the biggest rocket since the moon landing's Saturn² V booster.

 

Falcon Heavy is set to become the world's most powerful rocket in use. 

 

Phil Larson is an assistant dean of engineering and applied³ science at the University of Colorado, Boulder⁴.

 

"Falcon Heavy will be the biggest rocket since the Saturn V moon booster. It's not quite that big but it's on the path to enabling that kind of exploration, whether it's the moon or Mars, basically beyond low-Earth orbit."

 

To add to the excitement, SpaceX chief Elon Musk⁵ put a cherry-red Tesla Roadster on board. 

 

He's striving to put the car into a perpetual solar orbit reaching out as far as Mars, the focus of all his rocket efforts as he aims to establish a city there in years to come.

 

"Any new rocket system's first launch is going to be all about gathering⁶ data and so you don't want to put a mission critical payload on it, so Elon (Musk) is having a little fun and putting his first Tesla roadster, his first car as the payload and sending it on kind of a fun journey into Mars orbit while playing a David Bowie song. So, having a little fun but it's really all about gathering data on this first launch of a new rocket system."

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