The vast rocket, which is made of three Falcon 9 rockets linked together, will have the combined thrust to eventually launch 140,000 pounds (63,500kg) of cargo into orbit. 'Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape. Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,' Musk originally posted earlier this month. He also said 'Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster (inset) playing Space Oddity.'The craft will launch from Cape Canaveral, and its booster's will land back in the same place - although it is not clear is this will happen on the rocket's first flight.
There IS water on Mars: Scientists say rocks on the red planet absorbed it under the crust ‘like a sponge’ killing all lifeforms and leaving the surface dry and desolate
Scientists at Oxford University's department of Earth sciences used modelling methods employed to understand the composition of Earth rocks to study the surface of Mars (inset). They believe that lava reacted with water to form porous rocks, which can absorb 25 per cent more water than those on Earth, which soaked up any remaining liquid. This would have been devastating to any forms of life that might have evolved on the planet's surface, around 3.5 billion years ago, experts say. The main image shows the transition from a wet to dry environment.
World's largest plane with a wingspan longer than a FOOTBALL FIELD taxis down the runway for the first time ahead of its 2019 test flight
Stratolaunch used the aircraft’s six Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines (bottom) to conduct a low speed taxi test (top right) at the company’s facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Stratolaunch successfully travelled down the runway at 25 knots (28 miles per hour/45km/h). Once low-speed taxi tests have been safely completed, the company will begin the next phase of taxi testing, which will include increased speeds. Once testing has been completed, the aircraft (top left) will be used to launch satellites and other objects into space. This could include a Dream Chaser spaceship, which could act as a mini-shuttle to reach low Earth orbit destinations and return astronauts or payloads to a runway within 24 hours.
The REAL blue planet: Incredible NASA image shows 'glowing' Antarctic iceberg
NASA’s airborne Operation IceBridge mission has captured a stunning image of an Antarctic iceberg surrounded by an otherworldly blue halo. At first glance, the striking neon color appears artificial – but, according to the space agency, the submerged layer of the eroded iceberg truly is ‘the bluest of ice.’ The remarkable effect was spotted during a flight to Victoria Land, as the aircraft passed over Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound.
- Elon Musk reveals his megarocket: Falcon Heavy set to blast off within weeks (and could be taking Musk's car along for the ride)
- There IS water on Mars: Scientists say rocks on the red planet absorbed it under the crust ‘like a sponge’ killing all lifeforms and leaving the surface dry and desolate
- Apple under fire as it admits it DOES deliberately 'smooth out' the performance of older iPhones to keep them running as their batteries age
- Get ready for AmazonTube: Retail giant is secretly planning a rival to YouTube, patents reveal
- Winter is coming: Researchers simulate the climate of Game of Thrones - and say The Wall would be like winter in Finland
- US military backs project to create unhackable 'Morpheus' computer that can thwart hackers 'like a Rubik's cube'
- Has YOUR computer been 'cryptojacked'? Experts reveal how to tell if hackers are using it to mine bitcoin
- Net neutrality repeal could make free online pornography much more expensive
- Magic Leap finally reveals its headset: 'Creators Edition' of Lightwear glasses will go on sale next year (but the firm still won't say how much they'll cost)
- Attempts to scan the mysterious Oumuamua 'comet' that hurtled past Earth may have 'awoken alien intelligence inside', UFO expert warns
- World's largest plane with a wingspan longer than a FOOTBALL FIELD taxis down the runway for the first time ahead of its 2019 test flight
- The incredible images set to bring back supersonic flight for the masses: NASA reveals radical new way to study sonic booms
- Strange skull of an ancestor of the river dolphin that swam the oceans 34 million years ago is found in South America
- North Korea's army of cyber hackers could be an even greater threat than their nuclear ambitions, experts warn
- Mystery as 2,000-year-old tomb door with a stunning menorah carving is discovered at an ancient mosque in Israel
- 'Pokemon Go' gets real: Niantic reveals new version of hit game using Apple's augmented reality system
- Why hormones make us lean to the right when we kiss
- The robot that knows when you're lying: Scientists create an AI that can detect deception in the courtroom (and it's already 'significantly better' than humans)
- Attempts to scan the mysterious Oumuamua 'comet' that hurtled past Earth may have 'awoken alien intelligence inside', UFO expert warns
- World's largest plane with a wingspan longer than a FOOTBALL FIELD taxis down the runway for the first time ahead of its 2019 test flight
- Has YOUR computer been 'cryptojacked'? Experts reveal how to tell if hackers are using it to mine bitcoin
- Haunting moment a rare 'ghost snow tsunami' mirage appears on the horizon in Wyoming
- Mystery as 2,000-year-old tomb door with a stunning menorah carving is discovered at an ancient mosque in Israel
- Apple under fire as it admits it DOES deliberately 'smooth out' the performance of older iPhones to keep them running as their batteries age
- There IS water on Mars: Scientists say rocks on the red planet absorbed it under the crust ‘like a sponge’ killing all lifeforms and leaving the surface dry and desolate
- Magic Leap finally reveals its headset: 'Creators Edition' of Lightwear glasses will go on sale next year (but the firm still won't say how much they'll cost)
- Venice may be almost 200 years older than anyone thought, according to 1,300-year-old peach stones found under the floor of Saint Mark's Basilica
- Remains of 1,500-year-old monastery and church with 'outstanding' mosaic floors and imported marble are uncovered in Israel
- Elon Musk reveals his megarocket: Falcon Heavy set to blast off within weeks (and could be taking Musk's car along for the ride)
- Majestic beauty of Jupiter is revealed in stunning NASA 'oil painting' images of the gas giant
- The REAL blue planet: Incredible NASA image shows Antarctic iceberg surrounded with a 'glowing halo'
- Mexican corvina fish have such loud 'machine gun' SEX that their annual orgies could deafen dolphins, scientists warn
- Plastic is found in mussels from the European Arctic to China in a worrying sign the polluting material is ending up on our dinner plates
- Secrets of ancient Egyptian artists revealed: Mummified woman's 1,800-year-old portrait was created using beeswax, plant dyes and a small metal spoon, new scans reveal
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Majestic beauty of Jupiter is revealed in stunning NASA 'oil painting' images of the gas giant
These close-up shots of Jupiter were taken during a Nasa space probe and capture swirling clouds in the planet's northern and southern hemispheres. Juno has been making observations and recordings of the giant gas planet, which were then beamed back to Earth. Early science results from Nasa's mission portray the largest planet in our solar system as a turbulent world, with an intriguingly complex interior structure, spectacular polar aurora, and huge cyclones. Pictured (clockwise from top left): Huge storms in which one cloud formation is more than 4,000 miles (6,500 km) long; JunoCam snapped this image on February 2 from an altitude of around 9,000 miles (14,500 km); This colour-enhanced image of a massive, raging storm in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere; This image highlights a massive counterclockwise rotating storm that appears as a white oval in the gas giant’s southern hemisphere.
Bell's Valor tiltrotor 'supercopter' that could replace the Black Hawk flies for first time
The new Bell Helicopter successfully achieved its first flight on Monday as it moves closer to replacing the famous Black Hawk. Bell released video of its V-280 Valor during take-off at the military base in Amarillo, Texas. The V-280 Valor is a next-generation tiltrotor that is designed to provide unmatched agility, speed, range and payload capabilities at an affordable cost, according to the company. This milestone brings Bell Helicopter one step closer to creating the next generation of vertical lift aircraft for the US military.
German WWI body armour and weaponry so barbaric it was banned under the Geneva Convention for inflicting incredible pain on soldiers set to sell for thousands in auction
The chilling items, set for auction in Ashford, Kent, include a rare German 'sawback bayonet' blade (pictured left in centre image, sheath pictured right). The weapon looks like a long dagger, but one side had a lethal serrated edge that caused horrendous wounds and even helped pull out a victim's insides. Another weapon up for sale is a wooden trench club dotted with metal studs (pictured left), which was used to quietly kill soldiers during night-time raids. Alongside the brutal weaponry, a rare steel body armour set (pictured right) worn by German troops placed in vulnerable fixed positions is up for auction. The suit was used by snipers and machine gunners, who came under heavy fire once their positions had been exposed.
Tsunami ghost ship washes up on the US coast after six years at sea
The unidentified fishing vessel, which is marked with Japanese lettering, was found within the Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site in Oregon (top left). Inside was a valuable cargo – the ship was overrun with gooseneck barnacles (right), a delicacy that can cost diners £90 a plate. Photos from the wreckage show masses of the barnacles clinging to the overturned hull, as well as seagulls feasting on them. Experts say that, after the tsunami, the vessel was most likely trapped by the Kuroshio Current (bottom left) which runs along Japan's east coast. Professor David Tappin of the British Geological Survey – who was one of the first foreigners to assess the damage to Japan back in 2011 – said the ship might even have landed on Hawaii first and hit the US West Coast afterwards.
Researchers fit baby turtles with mini swimsuits and put them on a treadmill to find out how they become 'crawling machines' after they hatch
Once a baby sea turtle hatches from its egg, the lure of the ocean is immediate; hatchlings make the trek from their nest to the water within the first 24 hours, in what’s known as a ‘frenzy’ period. The journey itself should take just minutes, but disorientation along the way can cause the freshly hatched turtles to spend hours crawling through the sand. In a new study using specially designed mini-treadmills and swimsuits, conservationists observed how hatchlings cope with disorientation – and, they were shocked to find the young turtles are ‘crawling machines.’
Secrets of ancient Egyptian artists revealed: Mummified woman's 1,800-year-old portrait was created using beeswax, plant dyes and a small metal spoon, new scans reveal
The details of a mummified Egyptian woman's 1,800-year-old portrait (left image) have been mapped by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, in incredible detail. A new non-invasive technique allowed experts to take intricate scans of the second century portrait, revealing the materials and methods the artist used. The images show that the ancient painter used beeswax and plant dyes to craft the Noblewoman's likeness. A number of different tools were used to craft the artwork, including a fine painter's brush, a metal spoon and an engraver, the scans reveal. The 35cm by 12cm (14x5-inch) artwork is a 'Fayum' mummy portrait - a painting on a wooden board attached to a mummy that likely depicts the deceased person. The new mapping method used by the team integrated three techniques - hyperspectral diffuse reflectance (centre left image), luminescence (centre right image) and X-ray fluorescence (right image).
'We may not be alone': Former Pentagon official who was part of a secret $22 million project to combat UFO attacks claims aliens HAVE visited Earth
Luis Elizondo (top right), who previously ran the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program in Washington D.C., believes aliens may have visited Earth (left). He bases his claims on 'compelling evidence' in numerous reports he read on encounters with unidentified 'aircraft' (bottom right). Many displayed out of this world capabilities in terms of both speed and manoeuvring.
Boeing reveals radical unmanned 'Stingray' drone that can refuel fighter jets in midair
The small, unnamed craft (main image) will be carried on warships and catapulted into the air in the same way fighter jets are. It it will allow the range of jets to be radically improved - and means they can stay at the battlefront for far longer. It will compete against craft from Lockheed Martin and General Atomics (inset) to win a lucrative US Navy contract worth over $2 billion
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop One sets a new speed record of nearly 240mph in a major step towards launching a global high-speed transport system by 2021
Virgin Hyperloop One has made history this week, after setting a new speed record with its futuristic travel system. The firm completed a third phase test (pictured left and bottom right) at its DevLoop track in Nevada, where its hyperloop pod was able to reach dizzying speeds of 240 miles/hour (387 km/hour). While this is short of the firm's goal to achieve speeds of up to 670 miles/hour (1,000 kilometres/hour) by 2021, it's definitely a step in the right direction. Richard Branson (pictured top right), founder of Virgin, has also been named as non-executive Chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One.
What is Boeing's secret plane? Firm teases mysterious design believed to be an electric 'hairdryer' craft it boasts will 'change future air power'
The craft, seen hidden under a cloth, is believed to be a radical new craft using electric 'hairdryer' to allow it to land and take off vertically, based on a concept known as 'Phantom Swift' (inset). Last year Boeing bought Aurora Flight Sciences Corp, which is also developing the autonomous, electric-powered and long-flight-duration aircraft for its commercial and military businesses - and beat Boeing in a contest to design a VTOL craft for the US military. Boeing will unveil their mystery aircraft on December 19th.
Could this be the world's first supersonic business jet? Aerion AS2 could start commercial operations in 2025 and cut three hours from a trip from New York to London
Aerion and Lockheed Martin have revealed they are joining forces in the race to create the world's first supersonic business jet. The firms are working together to 'explore the feasibility of a joint development of the world's first supersonic business jet', the Aerion AS2.
Mystery as four ancient child graves are uncovered in Egypt - with one having suffered 'severe injuries'
The child burials were found during excavations at Gebel el-Silsila, which was once a quarry site during the Thutmosid period, from roughly 1493 BCE to 1401. Inside some of graves, the researchers also found a number of artifacts, including amulets, bracelets, and pottery. But, one grave in particular stands out from the rest, with evidence that the child was buried ‘without any care.’
Incredible images reveal a futuristic vision inspired by Polynesian traditions for the world's first floating nation planned for the Pacific Ocean by 2020
The latest concept images (pictured) for a floating island habitat off the coast off Tahiti take inspiration from the rich Polynesian culture, in particular from traditional navigation. The overall shape of the construction reflects the pattern of a fish hook, an ancestral tool that symbolises the actions of the demigod Maui. Its creators hope to incorporate modern technology that will let dwellers live in harmony with the surrounding environment.
Mystery as partially-preserved corpse resembling a DINOSAUR is found with flesh still on its bones in India
The partially-preserved corpse (main) was discovered by an electrician cleaning out a sub-station that had been left untouched for 35 years in Jaspur, a small city in Uttarakhand, India. It resembles a small dinosaur, but since flightless dinosaurs have been extinct for 65 million years ago, scientists have struggled to identify it. The creature has now been sent for analysis, including carbon dating, which will reveal its age. Inset: A dakotaraptor as it might have appeared 66 million years ago.
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