autoevolution
 

Falcon Heavy Official Launch Animation, a Wish Come True for Dreamers

It's not long now until the Falcon Heavy lifts-off for Mars, in an epic journey that will send a Tesla Roadster on a billion year elliptic Red Planet orbit. As expectation increases, SpaceX's Elon Musk released the official launch animation for the rocket, showing the world, in CGI, how history will be made.
Tesla Roadster heading for Mars in Falcon Heavy animation 1 photo
Photo: SpaceX
The video is 3.26 minutes long, and it's worth every second spent watching it. To the tunes of David Bowie's Life on Mars, we see the Falcon Heavy taking off from the launch pad, exiting the atmosphere and then shooting off to Mars, carrying its unlikely cargo and the Starman as the driver.

The animation confirms what SpaceX's officials have begun hinting ever since Monday: the company will try landing all three Falcon boosters after separation, an attempt which, if successful, will mark a new era in space flight technology.

Theoretically, landings should work fine (in the animation we are shown two land- and one sea-based landings), as the boosters are based on those of the Falcon 9, which have already proven they can land successfully.

Elon Musk told CNN on Monday that regardless of the outcome of the launch, the moment itself is “very exciting,” as the world will witness either “a great rocket launch or the best fireworks display they've ever seen.

The game-changing rocket is expected to draw thousands from across the world (the estimation is that 100,000 people will turn up for the show) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch window is between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST, and already plans are being drawn up to get the best seat in the house.

According to Launchrats, the top three spots to watch the event are the Playalinda Beach (3.6 miles from the launch site), the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center or the Titusville riverfront, 11.7 miles away from the site.

Updates to follow. Until then, enjoy the official Falcon Heavy animation below.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories