PICTURES FROM SPACE! ELON MUSK,
PULLS OFF AN ENGINEERING FEAT.
HE SENT HIS OWN KIND OF "ROCKET
MAN"... ON BOARD A TESLA
ROADSTER INTO ORBIT.
ELON MUSK HAS DONE IT AGAIN.
BUT THIS IS MUCH MORE THAN A
PUBLICITY STUNT INVOLVING A CAR
IN SPACE.
LET'S START WITH THE SCIENCE.
THIS AFTERNOON, SPACE-X LAUNCHED
THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL
ROCKET. AND IT'S A MAJOR
MILESTONE FOR THE COMPANY.
AND THIS IS A LIVE LOOK AT
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SPACE.
THAT'S ELON MUSK OWN TELSA
CONVERTIBLE NOW IN ORBIT... THE
DRIVER
IS A MANNEQUIN HE'S CALLING
"STAR MAN".
BUT CBS REPORTER MANUEL
BOJORQUEZ SHOWS US: WHAT CAME
DOWN -- IS ALSO MAKING NEWS.
(nats of close up of engines
firing) (TRACK 1)
TWENTY-SEVEN ROCKET ENGINES
FIRED AT ONCE, SENDING THE
FALCON HEAVY INTO SPACE AND THE
SPACEX CREW INTO APPLAUSE.
(nats) If you can hear the
applause, this was a great test
of the Falcon Heavy! (NATS)
THE MEGA-ROCKET COMBINES THE
POWER OF 3 SPACE-X ROCKETS INTO
ONEâGENERATING OVER FIVE
MILLION POUNDS OF
THRUSTâENOUGH TO LAUNCH A 737.
(SOT: Bill Harwood/CBS News
Space Anaylist) "It's a very big
step forward we haven't seen a
rocket this powerful since the
space shuttle retired in 2011."
(TRACK 2)
SPACE X FOUNDER AND CEO ELON
MUSK SPOKE WITH CBS SPACE
ANALYST BILL HARWOOD MONDAY AT
THE LAUNCH PAD. (SOT:
HARWOOD/MUSK) BH: â why does
the country need this rocket?
EM: I think this rocket's great
for a lot of reasons. It's
something that I think inspires
the public.
(TRACK 3)
THE PAYLOAD ON THIS TEST LAUNCH
IS MUSK'S MIDNIGHT CHERRY TESLA
ROADSTERâWITH A DUMMY NAMED
"STARMAN."
IT'S HEADED FOR AN ELLIPTICAL
ORBIT AROUND THE SUN THAT
EXTENDS AS FAR OUT AS MARS AND
IT COULD REMAIN IN ORBIT FOR
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS.
(NATS OF BOOSTERS RELEASING) AND
THE SIDE BOOSTERS THAT GOT THE
FALCON HEAVY INTO SPACEâMUSK
GOT THEM BACK INTACT. THEY
STUCK THEIR LANDINGS AT A CAPE
CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION.
MANUEL BOJORQUEZ, CBS NEWS,
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE LIVE
PICTURES FROM SPACE.
COMING UP IN ABOUT 90 MINUTES...
IF ALL GOES WELL, ROCKETS
ONBOARD WILL FIRE AGAIN...
SENDING THE
ROADSTER ON ITS WAY TOWARDS
MARS.
MEANTIME A LOW TECH PROBLEM BACK
HERE ON EARTH.
