Red Tesla Roadmaster Flies Into Space Courtesy Of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket [VIDEO]

Previous generations may have contemplated the notion that someday cars might fly around in space. On February 6, that thought was technically realized when SpaceX launched a rocket carrying a red Tesla Roadster.

TESLA ROADSTER ROAMS AROUND IN SPACE

SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk is the owner of the airborne Tesla Roadmaster and the dummy piloting it, whom he named Starman. The car was propelled into orbit by SpaceX’s new Falcon Heavy rocket, and it’s to date the largest automobile to ever enter the solar system.

Falcon Heavy’s launch, which was one of the most-anticipated rocket launches in the last ten years, can easily be considered a success. The rocket was powered by 27 engines, a record high, which granted it “5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.”

Musk wanted the first test run for his company’s newest rocket to feature the “silliest thing” they could muster, and the red car and dummy driver they selected were intended to orbit near Mars. However, their orbit instead exceeded that plan, with the pair trekking through the astroid belt that rests past Mars’ orbit:

Starman, in spite of his wondrous voyage, is rather casual over his celestial trip; his right hand is affixed to the steering wheel while his left elbow is nonchalantly resting on the car door. Comically, he’s listening to David Bowie‘s “Life on Mars” on the radio. Part of his journey was live-streamed, and it can be seen below: