© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

SpaceX 'Starman' At Wheel Of Sports Car Flying on New Rocket

Elon Musk via Instagram
"Starman" heading into space aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

A SpaceX “Starman” is aboard the company’s new rocket that’s set to make its launch debut from Florida.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk revealed pictures of the surprise passenger Monday. The figure is in the driver’s seat of Musk’s red Tesla Roadster, the cargo for Tuesday’s first test flight of the Falcon Heavy. The right hand is on the wheel, the left arm rests on the convertible’s door.

Starman, as Musk calls him, is wearing a white-and-black-trimmed spacesuit and helmet. It’s the same outfit real astronauts will wear when riding SpaceX rockets from Florida a year from now.

Musk, who also runs Tesla, is sending his Roadster into a solar orbit stretching out to Mars.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration officially licensed the flight from Kennedy Space Center.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
More On This Topic