SpaceX

Dionysus

Dionysus

Idoit
Admin
Planned 8:00 launch this morning of Starship and Super Heavy Booster from Starbase at Boca Chica, TX — this is the vehicle that is expected to get to Mars someday, and the first test of Starship with a booster rocket.

Assuming it still goes as scheduled, you can watch it live at www.spacex.com.

Direct YouTube link: youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA

starship.jpg
 
I'm still trying to get passed the morning news report on Houston radio while I was getting cleaned up telling me that Boca Chica had been moved to "the Hill Country".
 
Looks like Thursday is back on the table — a 62 minute window starting at 8:28 AM local time per this space.com article:

What time is SpaceX's 1st Starship and Super Heavy launch on April 20?

SpaceX is counting down to its first ever launch of the world's biggest rocket, its towering Starship vehicle, on April 20, but exactly when the rocket will fly depends on several factors.

The first combined Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster are currently scheduled to launch from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas no earlier than Monday at 9:28 a.m. EDT (1328 GMT). It will be 8:28 a.m. local time at the launch time. But whether SpaceX actually targets that time or opts to wait until later in the window remains to be determined. Here's a look at what time the mission is expected to fly.
 
Boo! The rocket experienced an RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) prior to separation but I’m sure they got a lot of good data on how to make it better next time, which is all this launch was about anyway.
 
6721,

The launch site is on the Boca Chica side of the Port of Brownsville, meaning sandwiched between the ship channel and the Rio Grande. Yes, it is very close to SPI by boat but almost an hour by car. Literally, "the tip of Texas" and not a place YOU want to visit.
 
Horn6721 said:
Dion
What town is that cluster of buildings off in the distance?
Click to expand...
That's the Starbase production site.

Go to google maps and zoom in on the area. If you go to the launch facility, you will see the 2x4 line of 8 very large tanks, which can serve as a compass for you.

In the launch video the buildings are oriented towards about 11:00 o'clock relative to the tanks. In google maps if you follow that path you go right to Starbase production.
 
I like this shot of the Raptor engines, a few of which seem to have failed to fire unless they were shut off for some reason.

twitter_F.jpg
 
SabreHorn said:
6721,

The launch site is on the Boca Chica side of the Port of Brownsville, meaning sandwiched between the ship channel and the Rio Grande. Yes, it is very close to SPI by boat but almost an hour by car. Literally, "the tip of Texas" and not a place YOU want to visit.
Click to expand...
Why not? I loved my time there, though I wasn't that close to the Rio Grande river, I was 12 miles as the crow flies. I know there are more problems in the Valley now than in the 80s, but that's true of many, many places.
 
Boca Chica Beach is for the "locals"; straight out Boca Chica Blvd. It is far more crowded than SPI.
 
A friend of mine who lives near lake Waco said he can hear and feel it every time space x tests their rockets at the location about 20 miles from his house. He said it happens almost every day. Kind of crazy.
 
Dionysus said:
Planned 8:00 launch this morning of Starship and Super Heavy Booster from Starbase at Boca Chica, TX — this is the vehicle that is expected to get to Mars someday, and the first test of Starship with a booster rocket.

Assuming it still goes as scheduled, you can watch it live at www.spacex.com.

Direct YouTube link: youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA

starship.jpg
Click to expand...
That is South Padre Island. You can see the rockets lift off from the bay side of the Island. And wow is it loud when they have a test ignition!! Watching a liftoff from there is incredible.
 
I have a maritime client who recently installed Starlink on a couple of his vessels. Speeds are pretty good and the price is much better than what he'd been paying through another vendor. He’s happy with it.
 
I was on a starlink waiting list for 18 months and then cancelled to get my deposit back. It was supposed to be a 6 month wait but was pushed back twice and then I finally gave up. Speeds are by all accounts very speedy at 300mbs or higher at a very reasonable price. However, while waiting, both the service and equipment fees increased about 20% which also got me irritated because my place in line got pushed for the first time shortly after he sent massive supplies to Ukraine. All of that could be sheer coincidence, but I doubt it.

I figure when it opens up around here I'll decide again if I really want it or not.
 
Next time you are out in the country late at night look up and marvel at the stars. I've read that with in a few years the reflected light from man-made satellites will foul the view. Serious stargazing will involve leaving earth. Honestly..living in the burbs local light pollution is pretty serious.
 
Pretty successful launch according to the SpaceX team reporting live. The Super Heavy booster rocket had a RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) shortly after separation from Starship, and the ship continued flying for a while before it came apart, or was intentionally terminated. The successful separation and flight of the Starship vehicle was very cool and a major milestone for the program.

starship.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict TEXAS-KENTUCKY *
Sat, Nov 23 • 2:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top