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Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight)
All launches
SpaceX

Demo Flight 1 (Maiden Flight)

Success

Falcon Heavy
T-minus to liftoff

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Feb 6, 20:45:00 UTC
StatusSuccess
VehicleFalcon Heavy
OrbitHeliocentric N/A
PadLaunch Complex 39A
Loading map…

Mission

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.

Quick facts

VehicleFalcon Heavy
OrbitHeliocentric N/A
PadLaunch Complex 39A
SiteKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
WindowFeb 6, 18:30:00 UTC→Feb 6, 21:00:00 UTC

Vehicle

FamilyFalcon
Height70 m
Diameter12.2 m
Stages3
ReusableYes
LEO capacity63,800 kg
Track record12/12 successful
Landings21/23
Acquiring satellite view…
Trajectory unknown
Launch Complex 39A
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
28.608, -80.604
Scrub riskLOW
Go84%
Q

Q's read

Weather & scrubLOW risk
Weather Go84%LL2 Go90%Wind0 ktGusts0 ktCloud80%Temp74°F

Limiting rule: No flight through cumulus cloud with top at or above the freezing level.

10000% cloud cover in layer above freezing (15117 ft) — approximated · ≥60% layer 15641–20072 ft (4431 ft thick) — approximated

Reusable Hardware

All boosters →
Strap-On Booster · Flight-provenB1023
retired2nd flight
Flights2
Landings2/2100%
Fastest turn619d 23h
Recovered · RTLS · LZ-1· 15 km downrange
619d 23h since last flight

Retired; on permanent display indoors at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Previous flights · 1
  1. #1Thaicom 8OCISLYMay 27, 2016
Strap-On Booster · Flight-provenB1025
retired2nd flight
Flights2
Landings2/2100%
Fastest turn568d 15h
Recovered · RTLS · LZ-2· 15 km downrange
568d 15h since last flight

Retired.

Previous flights · 1
  1. #1SpX CRS-9LZ-1Jul 18, 2016
First Stage · NewB1033
lost1st flight
Flights1
Landings0/10%
Fastest turn—
Landing failed · ASDS

Two of the outer engines didn't re-ignite for the landing burn, ran out of TEA/TEB igniters.

Upper Stage · Tesla RoadsterTSLA 10Tesla Roadster
Single Use
1 flight· Heliocentric Orbit

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.