When SpaceX celebrated its maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy, it was more than just a matter of demonstrating that two boosters could come back to Earth and land safely, or that it's able to launch an object almost as heavy as your Mom off the ground (3.1 million pounds just including the rocket). It also sent a fully operational Tesla Roaster speeding into outer space.
You've probably seen the images of it spinning around with a beautiful Earth backdrop behind it. It's weird, and in a way mesmerizing. But do you know where it is?
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Thankfully, one web developer made a website that tracks where the roadster is located based upon its speed and trajectory. It's called WhereIsRoadster.com, and it includes a full forecasting of its orbit as it heads toward Mars before wrapping around the Sun and returning near Earth.
According to the website, the Roadster is traveling at 6,800 miles per hour after its final burn. As of February 15th at noon PT it's 1.7 million miles from Earth, which is barely 1/45th of the distance to the Sun (1 AU).
Below are some key upcoming milestones worth considering.
Close Approach of Mars on June 8th, 2018 at a distance of 0.740 AU.
Far point from Sun on October 10th, 2018 at a distance of 1.655 AU.
Far point from Earth on February 21st, 2019 at a distance of 2.446 AU.
Close Approach of Sun on August 9th, 2019 at a distance of 0.983 AU.
Close Approach of Mars on September 16th, 2019 at a distance of 0.649 AU.
Far point from Earth on January 15th, 2020 at a distance of 2.336 AU.
Far point from Sun on May 13th, 2020 at a distance of 1.668 AU.
Close Approach of Mars on October 6th, 2020 at a distance of 0.049 AU.
Current estimates state that there's a 6% chance that the Roadster will collide with Earth within the net million years, with the first close encounter being in 2091. Meanwhile, there's virtually no probability of it coming within striking distance of Mars, although it'll be within a million miles or so, and could actually crash into Venus at some point.
All that said, the Roadster is only expected to survive 20 million years before all the nasty gamma rays and other particles deteriorate it into a state of discombobulation.
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