It‘s a bird, it’s an asteroid, no, it’s a roadster!
On 2 January 2025, the Minor Planet Centre (MPC) in Cambridge caused a sensation when it discovered an ‘asteroid’ called 2018 CN41 that came within 149.130 miles of Earth – that’s 89.477 miles closer than the Moon. Such objects are closely monitored as they could theoretically collide with Earth one day. But the surprise was not long in coming: the supposed asteroid turned out to be a Tesla Roadster.
The stylish Fusion Red Roadster, with a spacesuited mannequin called ‘Starman’ at the wheel, has been flying through space for almost seven years. In February 2018, Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent a Falcon Heavy rocket into space with this unusual passenger as a payload. The Roadster in space was not only a technical experiment, but also an ingenious marketing campaign for SpaceX and Tesla.
A Hohmann transfer orbit was used to place the spacecraft in orbit around the Sun – a clever way of efficiently moving a spacecraft from one orbit to another. The vehicle is first launched into an elliptical orbit, and then a second engine is used to bring it into the target orbit.
And the best part? David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” played from the roadster as the rocket was launched!
If you missed the live broadcast of the launch, you can watch it again now. A true interstellar road trip!
Studio Blafield, Dornröschenstadt Hofgeismar