SpaceX
The view of earth from Musk's roadster
- SpaceX has $4, the most powerful rocket the company has ever built.
- The rocket lifted off Tuesday from a historic Apollo-era launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Business Insider is on the ground.
- Musk put his Tesla Roadster on top as a test payload.
- The car is bound for Mars orbit.
SpaceX $4 rocket - the company's biggest yet - into space on Tuesday. It's carrying Elon Musk's own $4 out to Mars orbit.
Soon after the launch, Musk tweeted out a live feed of the car, and its driver - a dummy named Starman (after the David Bowie song) - with Earth in the background. It's not the only pop culture reference in this car.
Right in the middle of the car, on the center screen, are the words "Don't Panic." It's a reference to "$4," the 1979 book that was first in a series by Douglas Adams about an accidental space traveler named Arthur Dent. In the story, the Guide itself has the words "Don't Panic" on its cover.
Musk, who $4 "The Hitchhiker's Guide" as a teenager, has said that he loves the book. In a $4 he said the spaceship from the book was his favorite from
"I'd have to say [my favorite] would be the one in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' that's powered by the improbability drive," $4
Watch the livestream of Starman and the roadster here: