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Seems such a waste. Launches are expensive. There isn't something useful to put into heliocentric orbit for which the higher risk of a new rocket is worth the t

Seems such a waste. Launches are expensive. There isn't something useful to put into heliocentric orbit for which the higher risk of a new rocket is worth the tradeoff for a free launch?

JshWright 9y ago
Honestly? Probably not... You're also overlooking the very real utility of PR. Launching a car excites people and makes future "useful" missions more likely.
throwaway5752 9y ago
I upvoted you because it's a good point, but consider it was the first launch ever of this rocket so presumably people were reluctant to put important and expensive payloads on it.
- ars 9y ago
  Why not just a huge tub of water? And just leave it space in case someone needs it. Float it near the ISS as extra shielding from Solar Flares maybe.
  - throwaway5752 9y ago
    Wouldn't that be heavier by volume, have less mechanical resiliency by volume (no internal rigidity), and have more complicated physics (free flowing, capable of convection/rotation)? Maybe a big block of water ice... but honesty, seems to to have pretty limited utility. If long distance space exploration relies on lifting water vs harvesting it, then it's kind of a nonstarter?
maxxxxx 9y ago
I also thought they should have done a competition for schools to shoot up some experiments made by kids. Or something like that.
vermontdevil 9y ago
SpaceX did informally asked around (NASA, Air Force, etc) but no one took up on their offer. Understandable though.
sodafountan 9y ago
The images of the roadster in space are historic, those images alone could inspire thousands of young people to explore rocket science or physics as a career who perhaps otherwise wouldn't have. That I think is worth more than just another satellite in space or a science project, they also had to test that it could actually lift heavy objects. This was the perfect item to launch to space.
oh_sigh 9y ago
Even cheap satellites are tens of millions of dollars. You can't load it up with cube sats like you might for a LEO launch with extra payload capacity because these would have no way to communicate with us - they'd just be floating out there forever.

Seems such a waste. Launches are expensive. There isn't something useful to put into heliocentric orbit for which the higher risk of a new rocket is worth the tradeoff for a free launch?

JshWright 9y ago

Honestly? Probably not... You're also overlooking the very real utility of PR. Launching a car excites people and makes future "useful" missions more likely.

throwaway5752 9y ago

I upvoted you because it's a good point, but consider it was the first launch ever of this rocket so presumably people were reluctant to put important and expensive payloads on it.

ars 9y ago
Why not just a huge tub of water? And just leave it space in case someone needs it. Float it near the ISS as extra shielding from Solar Flares maybe.
- throwaway5752 9y ago
  Wouldn't that be heavier by volume, have less mechanical resiliency by volume (no internal rigidity), and have more complicated physics (free flowing, capable of convection/rotation)? Maybe a big block of water ice... but honesty, seems to to have pretty limited utility. If long distance space exploration relies on lifting water vs harvesting it, then it's kind of a nonstarter?

maxxxxx 9y ago

I also thought they should have done a competition for schools to shoot up some experiments made by kids. Or something like that.

vermontdevil 9y ago

SpaceX did informally asked around (NASA, Air Force, etc) but no one took up on their offer. Understandable though.

sodafountan 9y ago

The images of the roadster in space are historic, those images alone could inspire thousands of young people to explore rocket science or physics as a career who perhaps otherwise wouldn't have. That I think is worth more than just another satellite in space or a science project, they also had to test that it could actually lift heavy objects. This was the perfect item to launch to space.

oh_sigh 9y ago

Even cheap satellites are tens of millions of dollars. You can't load it up with cube sats like you might for a LEO launch with extra payload capacity because these would have no way to communicate with us - they'd just be floating out there forever.