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The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

arstechnica.com

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Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#141

Post by rektide »

stetrain wrote: post #130
rektide wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like you can get like half a mile north or south (based off some crude eyeballing) & be out of the easterly-directed exclusion zone. I have no clue how that compares to where people can be on land to watch, how far up rt 4 people are allowed. It seems like it might be a good option. Also the launch should pivot & head out more your-a-way too, which could be cool.

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/16470015572111605... The green areas are the closest you can get by boat. Which is basically just as close as viewing from South Padre Island. You might have a slightly less obstructed or crowded view from a boat versus parking and standing with everyone else on South Padre.

I'm surprised how greatly this differs from the marine exclusion zone that Boca Chica posted.

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#142

Post by SECProto »

mlindner wrote: post #60
grishka wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember it being called BFR, which stood for Big F**ing Rocket, lol

That came later after the MCT and then ITS acronyms. There's a history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship_development

> That came later after the MCT and then ITS acronyms

I believe there was a BFR originally [1], and it just returned later. But the real old one was the Falcon X and Falcon XX [2], which were to use the "Merlin 2" engine (giant RP/LOX engine a la the saturn V).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Mars_program#Early_heav...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Falcon_X&oldid=38...

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#144

Post by chinabot »

mlindner wrote: post #127
bumby wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Plus it's obvious that the US government is doing everything in their power to have Musk on as short of a leash as possible. What do you mean by this?

Some people are confused and think the government is against Musk in some way like the public is. The government quite likes SpaceX.

Sadly "The government" is hundreds of separate organizations, agendas and politicians all with separate cover their ass agendas, NASA probably want this to succeed, I doubt the others are as enthusiastic.

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#145

Post by Laremere »

usrusr wrote: post #93
mhandley wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SpaceX moved beyond what they could test without the launch (and catch) tower. They've spent a lot of time and money developing the ground systems - in comparison the early crude Starship prototypes were comparatively cheap and easily replaced - and I would imagine they really would prefer not to accidentally demolish the tower again.

Almost sounds like a bit chicken/egg, you can't try landing without a certain amount of confidence, you can't build confidence without trying. Considering the hover capability of the booster (can be throttled to <1G) we might see an unprecedented amount of touch and go testing before the first real attempt?

From the booster's point of view, the catch is a target location and speed. Plus a set of tolerances: however much the arm can swing to catch it, and horizontal speed has to be really low because it needs to drop down vertically into the arms. I would expect that the target on the ocean, even for the first test, is very specific. Once the booster can hit a phantom target, they can change the target to the tower and go for a catch attempt.

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#147

Post by ChickeNES »

WalterBright wrote: post #105

* Elon Musk and his Earth Boring Machine * Elon Musk and his Electric Car Company * Elon Musk and his Starship Rocket Tom Swift for real?

I always see him more as DD Harriman, and given that the anthology his two stories are in also contains stories about solar panels and automated roads....

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#148

Post by simondotau »

mabbo wrote: post #49
sebzim4500 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the chance that the second stage survives reentry on the first attempt is almost zero anyway. IIRC Musk said something like that in his second interview with Tim Dodd.

True, but remember he only gave falcon heavy a 50/50 shot of getting high enough before exploding to not damage the launch site on its first launch. Musk is incredibly optimistic about schedules, and pessimistic about launches.

It would be hard for him not to be pessimistic about launches given the early years of SpaceX. Not even their 150-odd successful Falcon 9 launches/landings would erase the scar tissue.

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#149

Post by rurban »

throwawayapples wrote: post #126
chasd00 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if you could head over to Matamoros and give a fisherman $50 to take you out on the water. The launch tower is maybe 500yds from the beach.

Matamoros is INSANELY dangerous. It is impossible to overstate that.

But the best (only) surf in Texas

Re: The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch its Starship rocket

#150

Post by ggm »

You know what I'd like? I'd like a launch which said

  5 4 3 2 1 lift off! All systems nominal, flight proceeding
And what were going to get is:

  5 4 3 2 1 lift off of what will be, for all humankind the first tenuous steps into the void, as mankind proves the value of endeavours against odds...
I can supply my own poetry. I don't need the emote which appears to be now mandatory.
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