Elon Musk Will Wave Goodbye To His Red Tesla Roadster

SpaceX has a firm launch date for the first flight of the Falcon Heavy ... at least as firm as any launch date can be.

In a Tweet Friday, Musk said: "Aiming for first flight of Falcon Heavy on Feb 6 from Apollo launchpad 39A at Cape Kennedy. Easy viewing from the public causeway."

The date follows a successful static fire on January 24. All that remains is to see if the big rocket will fly.

The rocket will be the most powerful currently in operation, and second only to NASA's Saturn V which lifted men off the Earth on their way to the Moon. SpaceX plans to use the Falcon Heavy to begin human exploration and colonization of Mars.

But on the first flight, the payload will be Musk's arrest-me-red Tesla Roadster. Whether it winds up drifting endlessly through space or is destroyed in a fireball, Musk has seen the last of his $100,000 car.

But it's not like he can't afford it.

MSN reports that once the company proves that Falcon Heavy, with its 27 rocket cores, can safely fly, it has several civilian and military heavy-lift contracts already on the schedule.

Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9 boosters connected together. SpaceX hopes to be able to re-use the boosters, significantly lowering the cost of access to space.

So space enthusiasts should mark their calendars. February 6 should be a milestone day, regardless of the outcome of the launch attempt.

(Images provided by SpaceX)

FMI: Original report, www.spacex.com