Starman

They launched the Falcon Heavy rocket today. It was pretty cool to see, especially because of the way the booster rockets returned back to their platforms and sat back down after doing their job. That's just rad.

This mission is just a test mission to see if they could everything to work properly, and it looks like they still have some work to do, because the third booster didn't make it back quite like it should have. As a sci-fi nerd, I'm always excited about the possibility of space travel, so I can't wait to see just what all will come of this.

And now that space has been opened up to private companies, it's interesting to see some of the things they've come up with, like Starman:

Is there anything out there that could make a nerd like me smile more? It's just so very cool.

Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like one of those moments that will be forever crystalized into this unforgettable image. In the future, the picture of Starman cruising the heavens in his Tesla roadster will probably sit side by side with the pictures of Neil Armstrong taking his first step on the moon, the photo of his footprint, and the photo of the American flag planted in the lunar dust.

Can't you just see some future version of whatever will pass for mass media doing a flashing promo with Starman's likeness in just the same way that MTV did with the astronauts?

I couldn't help but throw together my own quickie video with what we'd rolled off of the Starman feed.

And then, of course, there's the fact that they called him Starman. If you know me much, then you know that I appreciate David Bowie who I got to know well because of writing a story ostensibly about him. It's called ChloeyYou can read the story here, or listen to the Dunesteef episode that featured it here.

Check out the animation of the mission, set to the tune of Bowie's "Life On Mars?"

I wonder what those future Martians a thousand years from now will think when they go and visit the site of Starman and his Tesla roadster the way we visit the pyramids or the colisseum in Rome. Will Bowie will live on echoing through their minds? Will there even be humans in existance by that time? I just love to think about it. I love it when something like this comes along and fills me with wonder.