News

Actions

SpaceX 'Starman' at wheel of sports car flying on new rocket

SpaceX 'Starman' at wheel of sports car flying on new rocket
Posted
and last updated

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - 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.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)