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SpaceXFalcon HeavyLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Demo (Test Flight)
Launched
February 6, 2018
Summary
Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight) launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on February 6, 2018. It was SpaceX's 55th launch, 3rd this year and humanity's 5,723rd orbital launch attempt. It was the 1st Falcon Heavy flight. Booster B1033 flew for the 1st time and its landing at Of Course I Still Love You failed. Booster B1025 flew for the 2nd time and landed at Landing Zone 2. Booster B1023 flew for the 2nd time and landed at Landing Zone 1. The payload was bound for Heliocentric N/A (Helio-N/A). It reached a 191 × 6,960 km orbit inclined 29.0°. One crew member flew: Starman. The spacecraft was Tesla Roadster (TSLA 10). One object from this launch is catalogued.
- Watch
- Live Views of StarmanSpaceX
- Falcon Heavy Test FlightSpaceX
- Vehicle
- Falcon Heavy · SpaceX
- Booster
- B1033 · flight 1 · Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship at Of Course I Still Love You · landing failed209/217 landed here
- B1025 · flight 2 · Return to Launch Site at Landing Zone 2 · landed17/17 landed here · 568 days after its previous flight, SpX CRS-9 · 15 km downrange
- B1023 · flight 2 · Return to Launch Site at Landing Zone 1 · landed53/54 landed here · 619 days after its previous flight, Thaicom 8 · 15 km downrange
- Mission
- Test Flight · Heliocentric N/A (Helio-N/A)
- Milestone
- 1st Falcon Heavy flightSpaceX's 55th launch3rd this yearhumanity's 5,723rd orbital launch attempt17th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
StarmanSpace Traveller · SpX · first flight
Spacecraft
Tesla Roadster (TSLA 10)
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car that served as the dummy payload for the February 2018 Falcon Heavy test flight and became an artificial satellite of the Sun. "Starman", a mannequin dressed in a spacesuit, occupies the driver's seat. The car and rocket are products of Tesla and SpaceX, respectively, both companies founded by Elon Musk. The 2008-model Roadster was previously used by Musk for commuting to work, and is the only production car in space. The car, mounted on the rocket's second stage, acquired enough velocity to escape Earth's gravity and enter an elliptical heliocentric orbit crossing the orbit of Mars. The orbit reaches a maximum distance from the Sun at aphelion of 1.66 astronomical units (au). During the early portion of the voyage outside the Earth's atmosphere, live video was transmitted back to the mission control center and live-streamed for slightly over four hours.
- Destination: Heliocentric Orbit
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Tesla Roadster · NORAD 43205 · 2018-017 · Space-Track
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2018-017A
- Epoch
- 2018-02-06 22:36:04 UTC
- Mean motion
- 8.75207321 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.3402738
- Inclination
- 29.0166°
- Ascending node
- 287.3637°
- Arg. of perigee
- 180.0678°
- Mean anomaly
- 179.9492°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0.0058861
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: Helio-N/A. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
1 catalogued: 1 payload
- Tesla Roadster · NORAD 43205 · left Earth orbit February 7, 2018
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
This will be the inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy. The test payload will be SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination: An elliptical, heliocentric orbit. Apoapsis: Around Mars' orbital distance.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
109th launch from Launch Complex 39A, 1st this year · 166th from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
99 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight) launch?
Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight) launched on February 6, 2018. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight)?
Coverage: Live Views of Starman; Falcon Heavy Test Flight. Watch the replay
What rocket launched Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight)?
Falcon Heavy, flown by SpaceX. Falcon Heavy spec sheet
Where did Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight) launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
Did the booster land?
Booster B1033 flew for the 1st time and its landing at Of Course I Still Love You failed. Booster B1025 flew for the 2nd time and landed at Landing Zone 2. Booster B1023 flew for the 2nd time and landed at Landing Zone 1.
What orbit did Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight) reach?
It reached a 191 × 6,960 km orbit inclined 29.0°.