It’s a new year, and a new kind of musk is in the air. Sometime this month, Elon Musk and SpaceX are hoping to test launch what would be the world’s most powerful rocket in operation—by a factor of two—the Falcon Heavy.
The Heavy is currently upright in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ready to test its 2,500 tons of thrust. When it fires, and if it does so successfully, the Falcon Heavy will be putting out oomph equivalent to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle. It’s payload? Elon’s personal cherry road roadster. The destination? The space around Mars, never to return.
Falcon Heavy goes vertical pic.twitter.com/uG1k0WISv1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2018
Of course, the rockets could also make their debut as a unplanned fireball, so no matter what happens when the Heavy is finally tested, it’s going to be exciting.
Also on the show this week, Dan and I offer you a more affordable alternative to the Tesla Model 3 while you wait for you order to be fulfilled, dig into SpaceX’s mysterious government launch, and highlight Elon’s pitch to come work at the biggest building (by floorspace) in the world.
Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.
What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
WHAT ELSE IS ELON MUSK UP TO?
- SpaceX and Uber are teaming up to make flying cars
- This human-controlled robot is like IRL Pacific Rim
- SpaceX wants to make a helpful version of Skynet
