I was actually mortified the Cassini Saturn orbiter was sent up on a newer rocket configuration that I didn't think was ready for anything 'nice'.
Just throwing a camera and sensors and the appropriate communication gear to work back to earth from Mars ain't cheap, AFAIK once the batteries go dead on the upper stage Musks test payload is just dead weight and no further $$$ will be expended from the DSN to track/command it. Also this test payload would need a few trajectory corrections on the way to Mars (or wherever) for a useful flyby, it all costs money and Musk was tryin g to show just what he can do with $90,000,000. Not $250,000,000.
Additionally, from the vagaries described in the out bound trajectory, it sounds like the upper stage burned till it exhausted all it's fuel, not a precision burn with a specific destination in mind. They started off saying it would go out to Mars distance and then loop back towards earth's orbit and repeat indefinitely. Last I heard its furthest point from the sun is now way out in the main asteroid belt. Another + for Musk if his crew was able to squeeze some more delta vee out of his rocket.
And like Tibs noted it captured imaginations the world over, it really scored some major advertising bucks for Musk in the way a big block of concrete ballast could not. $90,000,000 rocket and a free multi-million advertising campaign for all his businesses.
Just throwing a camera and sensors and the appropriate communication gear to work back to earth from Mars ain't cheap, AFAIK once the batteries go dead on the upper stage Musks test payload is just dead weight and no further $$$ will be expended from the DSN to track/command it. Also this test payload would need a few trajectory corrections on the way to Mars (or wherever) for a useful flyby, it all costs money and Musk was tryin g to show just what he can do with $90,000,000. Not $250,000,000.
Additionally, from the vagaries described in the out bound trajectory, it sounds like the upper stage burned till it exhausted all it's fuel, not a precision burn with a specific destination in mind. They started off saying it would go out to Mars distance and then loop back towards earth's orbit and repeat indefinitely. Last I heard its furthest point from the sun is now way out in the main asteroid belt. Another + for Musk if his crew was able to squeeze some more delta vee out of his rocket.
And like Tibs noted it captured imaginations the world over, it really scored some major advertising bucks for Musk in the way a big block of concrete ballast could not. $90,000,000 rocket and a free multi-million advertising campaign for all his businesses.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
