New Mars Forums
You are not logged in.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Announcement
#26 2021-07-23 14:13:01
- RobertDyck
- Moderator
- From: Winnipeg, Canada
- Registered: 2002-08-20
- Posts: 7,978
- Website
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
An exclusion zone of 3 miles means completely evacuating SpaceX Starbase, and evacuating the entire town of Boca Chica, and closing Boca Chica beach. Boca Chica Blvd (hwy 4) would have to be closed to Quicksilver Ave. Hmm, there's more than one road called Quicksilver Ave, I mean the western one, farther from Boca Chica. Google Maps shows a large building of some sort on the Rio Grande river at Tarpon Bend, on Rio Grande Drive near Richardson (a dirt road). That would have to be evacuated too.
I see why Elon purchased a couple off-shore oil platforms.
Offline
Like button can go here
#27 2021-07-23 15:06:08
- kbd512
- Administrator
- Registered: 2015-01-02
- Posts: 7,937
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
Robert,
We use what is effectively a subterranean block house to protect NORAD personnel against near misses from Megaton-class nuclear warheads. Perhaps nobody can remain above ground when we light this candle, but is there any reason why an underground steel blockhouse couldn't withstand the force of the blast from an on-pad explosion? At least in theory, it seems like that should be doable, although I don't know enough about the water table there to speak to the practicality of that solution.
Offline
Like button can go here
#28 2021-07-23 15:07:55
- RobertDyck
- Moderator
- From: Winnipeg, Canada
- Registered: 2002-08-20
- Posts: 7,978
- Website
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
kbd512,
True. Mercury and Gemini used a block house. SpaceX could too.
Offline
Like button can go here
#29 2021-07-23 19:57:17
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,436
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
SN10 gave a preview to the blast possibilities when it had little fuel remaining onboard when it exploded and metal pieces were found quite a ways from the site so what would a tank full do for throwing those same pieces of shrapnel with a much stronger blast due to lots more fuel....
Offline
Like button can go here
#30 2021-07-24 09:57:33
- GW Johnson
- Member
- From: McGregor, Texas USA
- Registered: 2011-12-04
- Posts: 5,823
- Website
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
There are other things to worry about than just an explosion on or near the launch pad. That's bad enough when you deflagrate 3400 tons of propellant in the booster plus another 1200 tons of propellant in the second stage/spacecraft. That's 4600 tons of low explosive, sort of like black powder, but more energetic, more like dynamite. Just slower to burn than dynamite. Takes a second or so, instead if a millisecond or so.
You have to worry about where the thing will come down if it fails several seconds to a minute or so after launch, and which way it will be flying if it goes way off course. Something that big needs a mile or two radius superposed around an off-site strike point, which in turn could be a few miles off site. Now you know why the oil rigs Musk bought are some 10 miles off shore. This thing is like the old risks associated with Nova and to some extent the N-1. It needs a 10 mile radius to keep the public safe.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
#31 2021-07-26 21:20:55
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,436
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
Offline
Like button can go here
#32 2021-12-19 19:42:20
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,436
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
Void aloded to engine counts and types for starship but what I am finding is the count is changing on the booster.
SpaceX installs Starship booster on orbital launch mount for the third time
Offline
Like button can go here
#33 2022-01-05 09:57:54
- Calliban
- Member
- From: Northern England, UK
- Registered: 2019-08-18
- Posts: 3,823
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
Future upgrades could increase Starship payload capacity by 50%
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2021/12/1 … ore-174223
"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."
Offline
Like button can go here
#34 2022-01-05 10:24:40
- kbd512
- Administrator
- Registered: 2015-01-02
- Posts: 7,937
Re: Starship Booster Prototypes beginning soon
So, we will ultimately have a much more powerful rocket than the Saturn V by the time SpaceX is done tweaking the basic design. This is excellent news. 2022 is already looking much better than 2021.
Offline
Like button can go here