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Old December 17th 17, 02:17 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Sylvia Else
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Default Falcon Heavy test flight payload announced on Twitter

On 13/12/2017 2:47 AM, David Spain wrote:
On 12/12/2017 3:12 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 3/12/2017 1:38 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

Falcon Heavy has maybe a 50/50 chance of success on its first flight.
But you can't launch it empty, because that doesn't properly simulate a
flight with a payload on top. So, you really do need a mass simulator.
In the past, mass simulators have been solid chunks of metal or a tank
filled with something benign like water.

Well, Elon Musk isn't one to follow the old boring trends. So, he
announced his payload plan (mass simulator) to the public via Twitter
last night:

On Friday evening, Musk tweeted what that payload would be his
"midnight cherry Tesla Roadster." And the car will be playing
Space Oddity, by David Bowie; the song which begins, "Ground
Control to Major Tom."


In fairness to any aliens who come across it hundreds of millions of
years hence, there should be an attempt[*] made to explain how what is
clearly a land vehicle designed for a gravity field much larger than
that of Mars should end up in orbit around it.

Sylvia.

[*] Which pretty much implies providing a complete language course
designed for aliens.


Although fun to imagine, this story has been de-bunked, by Musk himself.
It was Elon winking at us....

However orbiting a CD of Bowie songs, including Space Oddity, ought not
to be out of the question. And would keep the aliens busy for a long
time....


Dave


Do CDs, even pressed CDs, work after hundreds of millions of years?

Sylvia.