Automotive, F1 & Motorsport Issue 1 - September 2018 | Page 10

WELCOME TO THE AGE
OF A NEW SPACE RACE
In February 2018, SpaceX launched its
Falcon Heavy rocket on its maiden
voyage. The Falcon Heavy rocket is
essentially three Falcon 9 rockets
strapped together. On board the cargo-
lifting rocket was Tesla's Roadster
carrying a mannequin named "Starman".
The payload was released into space on
a voyage going farther out into the Solar
System than originally planned - the
vehicle was planned to go into Mars' orbit.
During the launch, the side boosters
landed in unison in what will be footage
that replayed in history and science
classrooms for decades to come. The
boosters were reused from their own
individual Falcon 9 launches. The return
of the centre core was not as successful
as it missed its target, crashing into the
water.
The Falcon Heavy rocket is currently the
most powerful in the world - still behind
the Saturn V for most powerful ever. It
will have another test launch later in 2018
and SpaceX will continue to develop even
more powerful rockets.
Elon Musk said of the launch, "We want
a new space race. Space races are
exciting." There are other privately funded
companies working on their own rocket
technology that can ignite a new space
race that has not been seen in almost four
decades.
MAY 2018
2018 | | MANE
MANE AEROSPACE,
AEROSPACE, DEFENCE
DEFENCE &
& SPACE
SPACE | | 13
13
MAY