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Starbase, Tx - SpaceX Launch Infrastructure
I don't know if this is the best place for this thread, I searched and didn't see anything already for it. It's not civilian transportation, it's not a skyscraper. But they are going crazy with the cranes right now, and people here love cranes so I thought there would be interest.
Tons of videos like this one from NASASpaceflight, and live webcams. So if you're interested, take a look. Right now they are assembling a massive Liebherr LR 11000 crane so they can stack pre-built sections of the Starship launch tower. Construction Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHP8ADl8GJY Live Webcam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTA0GTgFn5E (Looks like videos won't embed) (Mods: Feel free to move if there's a better spot for this) |
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Thanks!
This is the whole launch site. Massive caissons under the orbital launch mount and tower. https://mobile.twitter.com/RGVaerial...856832/photo/1 |
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The “Frankencrane” saw action today. Second section of the tower (first lift) lifted into place. At least two more to go, maybe three.
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Third tower section lifted. They said during the lift there are 4 sections after this one.
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Tower stacking of the 4th section begins at 2:30 in this video. That crane is incredibly tall now.
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Technology
Texas Official Warns SpaceX Amid Showdown Over Public Roads By Sergio Chapa June 16, 2021, 12:35 AM EDT A Texas prosecutor warned billionaire Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. that the company’s private security guards are blocking access to public roads around one of its bases, a situation that could potentially result in lawsuits and criminal charges. more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...r-public-roads |
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to be fair, the spacex spaceport is in a great spot. there is nothing around it except the long road access to the beach -- and the beach isnt really that popular. they can't block roads arbitrarily tho, so i have no sympathy. :hell: |
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7th tower section went up today. One more short one and the launch tower will be done. |
I love the update on this, thank you!
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while that is true, the FAA has taken issue.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aer...er-2021-07-14/ U.S. warns SpaceX its new Texas launch site tower not yet approved Quote:
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Regulatory reform is so drastically needed. The FAA is broken. How does the FAA have jurisdiction over a tower? Towers don't fly. And this tower is nowhere near an airport runway.
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^they don't, but having worked on multiple projects near airports or of certain heights we were required to obtain regulatory approval from Transport Canada and it would be at our own peril if not.
95% of the time it was checking a box and courtesy for all intents and purposes, but it had to be done. It would be absurd if the FAA does not approve this, but until regulations and the regulatory needle is shifted it is in your best interest to get things approved as required. |
Doing some extra reading, SpaceX does have FAA approval to build the tower. They just don't have FAA approval to use the tower.
Anyway, the 8th section was lifted yesterday, which is the last section. I wouldn't call it topped out though, they still have to build a crane on top. |
that thing is so tall you dont need a rocket. you are already in space imo.
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9th tower section lifted. They had an American flag hanging from this section, so in the steelworker tradition, I think this signals Topped Out. At least from a lift standpoint. They might build up some there. But the principal structure should be complete.
There will still be a lot of cool engineering going on, so I'll post more when there's fun crane work to see, like the lift of the launch table. |
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They followed fast lifting the booster onto the launch table for fit checks. More massive crane work, and lots more construction.
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The three piece interview with Elon is amazing.
Part 1 of 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t705r8ICkRw |
For those who haven't seen it, this animation is pretty close to what they're building right now.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/...ic%3D53088.540 |
They already need a bigger building for the booster. Not sure how much taller it will be.
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no way they get to one hour turnaround, but this process is mind blowing.
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More big crane work, adding a massive swing arm to the tower. This will hold the fuel lines and will need to swing away from the rocket for launch. So it mounts to the side of the tower on hinges.
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Another addition to the launch tower, at 2:20 mark. This is part of the arm that loads fuel into the rocket.
The video also shows a lot of other work going on. They've started checks on the cryo plumbing using liquid nitrogen. The next big addition to the tower should be the arms. |
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I’ll post a summary video later, but if anyone wants to watch this crazy lift live, here you go.
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Wow. And those arms are going to move.
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A new phase of construction is starting. The big "Frankencrane" has been taken down. Construction on a new assembly bay has begun.
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This is probably a small step to building space cities, we are getting closer. China will have its new space station done soon. Also musk and bezo combined have half a trillion dollars, but we know the first people living in space won't live well and people will die. So close but so far, literally.
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mechazilla is alive!
SpaceX's Mechazilla Is Alive! Starship Orbital Launch Tower Arms Move For The First Time by Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo October 28, 2021 SpaceX’s Mechazilla is alive! Engineers working at Starbase on the 400-foot-tall Starship orbital launch tower moved the robotic arms for the first time on Thursday morning. Called ‘Mechazilla’ by SpaceX Founder Chief Engineer Elon Musk, the giant claw-like steel structure is designed to ‘catch’ the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket as it conducts a propulsive descent. The arms attached to the tower will enable the company to develop a reusable launch system capable of flying multiple times per day. “SpaceX will try to catch largest ever flying object with robot chopsticks,” Musk said last month, “Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is!” NASASpaceflight operates a set of Live cameras that captured footage of the Mechazilla arms moving for the first time. more: https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...chazilla-moves |
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Like any frontier its going to be quite hostile in the beginning, and space is more hostile than any frontier humanity has ever set forth into. I think its important for our sense of wonder, adventure, its important for our very souls to have a frontier to strive towards and venture into. |
Boca Chica launch site is situated close to the Mexican border. Can there not trouble arise, when a rocket overflies Mexican territory?
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There were so many space reaching options proposed. Majority are listed in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-rocket_spacelaunch This one might be new age trial. |
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thats the whole reason for SpaceX and others working on re-usable spacecraft to cut the Price per LB for launch. Its why the best option would be a "Space Elevator" but we dont have the materials capable of engineering such a structure. ...... yet! :cheers: |
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they would be skyscrapers that no one lives in except at the top, you could stay there a few days then you are so close to space it would be easy to go to a space city in whatever way that it would be. |
[QUOTE=dubu;9449216]ya, thats the only way id go to space, im scared of flying. we have real tall skyscrapers, if those were in like colorado or something, /QUOTE]
Not even close! Low Eat orbit starts at about 2k Kilometers above the surface or about 1300 miles, or about 7 million feet. Even if you stacked every 100 story building on earth on top of the tallest mountain in Colorado that gets us to about 37,000 feet or about .5% of the height to orbit If we move the towers to Everest that gets us to 51,000 feet or so. a mere .7% of the way there. |
thats far, but you could have a aircraft carrier up there in the town in the sky. it could throw the space craft, maybe it can be a electric space craft or something more advanced.
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the space elevator will always be twenty years off, like fusion and a.i.. :haha: |
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https://www.powermag.com/fusion-ener...han-you-think/ AI is getting scary. ask Elon Musk, Boston Dynamics, Google, etc. |
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AI is great for analysis and pattern recognition (terrifying for surveillance and freedom) but its not true "intelligence" its just further improvements on computational power that we already do. I dont know if we will every get to a real AI, just very close imitations. As for Fusion we are closer to that than AI. And Space elevators are impossible with current known materials. |
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