In article , says...

On 12/25/2017 9:24 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

Since the wheels are off the ground, you could inflate them to just a
few psi and they'll look nice and round in those pictures.

Also, note that the X-37B's tires don't explode in vacuum. The longest
mission so far has been 717 days and 20 hours, which is just shy of two
years.


Jeff,

Do you know if the X-37B and the Space Shuttle for that matter used
specially rated tires for space? I only know the history of the tires
used for the SR-71, and they were far from ordinary.

I know, but we're talking about tires that will almost surely be filled
such that they won't come close to exceeding their maximum recommended
pressure when in vacuum (SpaceX engineers have surely thought of this).
Yes ultraviolet radiation and vacuum will surely take their toll on the
rubber that make up these tires, But, I would think that they will hold
pressure long after the launch is done and the upper stage has been used
for the last time (the batteries will die and the LOX will boil away
long before the tires ever burst).

Also, Musk can do whatever he wants since it's his car. Also, this
isn't actually going anywhere near Mars. Reports to the contrary are
inaccurate. This is about as good as it gets:

https://www.space.com/39164-elon-mus...-heavy-rocket-
photos.html

From above:

"Musk has said that Falcon Heavy's first payload will be his
own midnight-cherry-red Tesla Roadster, launched on a
trajectory aimed for Mars orbit."

In other words, this sounds to me like a transfer orbit between earth
orbit and Mars orbit. My guess it will be chosen so that there is zero
chance of it actually hitting Mars or earth. So, it's just going into a
solar orbit.


That sounds very reasonable to me. Far easier to obtain with the given
hardware.

There is no way the Falcon upper stage has enough battery and thermal
control over the LOX to perform a "burn" anywhere near Mars.

Jeff
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