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Tag: starbase

  • SpaceX is preparing the next-gen Starship after a successful flight test

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    SpaceX’s second-generation Starship vehicle has just made a graceful exit. The company achieved every major objective it set for the super-heavy lift vehicle’s 11th flight test, the second-gen Starship’s final flight, which launched from Starbase in Texas on October 13. It followed another successful test in August, which saw Starship deploy its payload for the first time ever. Before those two most recent flights, SpaceX suffered a series of failures: Starship exploded during its ascent stage in the company’s seventh and eighth tests, and it failed to deploy its payload during its ninth test. Another Starship vehicle blew up on the ground during a routine test while SpaceX was preparing for its 10th flight.

    All of the vehicle’s 33 Raptor engines ignited upon launch, and the stage separation and first-stage ascent went smoothly. The Super Heavy booster splashed down into the ocean as planned, while Starship was able to deploy all its Starlink simulators before re-entering the atmosphere. During its reentry burn, SpaceX intentionally stressed the vehicle to determine the capabilities of its heatshield. And with just a few minutes left to the flight, the vehicle executed a banking maneuver to “mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly.”

    The company says it will now focus on developing the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy. It has multiple versions of the vehicle and the booster being prepared for tests at the moment, and it expects them to be used for the first Starship orbital flights and operational payload missions.

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    Mariella Moon

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  • Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Taking More Control of the Texas Coastline Ahead of Starship’s Next Launch

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    Elon Musk’s newly inaugurated space city has been handed control over a piece of Boca Chica beach as it expands its influence over the people and environment living near SpaceX’s rocket launch site.

    Texas’ Cameron County approved an agreement to hand over parts of the beach to Starbase in late September, granting SpaceX the ability to close the beach at Boca Chica ahead of the 11th test launch of its Starship megarocket, currently set for Monday. The move comes after SpaceX has faced criticism over its frequent rocket launches, which have become increasingly disruptive to both the local community and surrounding wildlife.

    Gizmodo has asked both SpaceX and Cameron County for comment.

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    Musk’s dream of turning Starbase into this own city became a reality earlier this year when the majority of residents voted in favor of the company town. The city spans about 1.6 square miles (4.1 square kilometers) and is home to roughly 500 residents, the majority of whom are SpaceX employees and contractors.

    SpaceX began buying land in the area in 2012, and has expanded its presence with housing and other facilities, even announcing tentative plans to open a $15 million shopping center. Shortly after Starbase was established as its own town, it sent out a memo to residents regarding a new zoning ordinance and updated city map that could potentially force them to abandon their property.

    Before Starbase was established, SpaceX had been campaigning for the ability to close public beaches and roads in Boca Chica for rocket launches, ground testing, or other related activities during the week. The county’s recent agreement with Starbase grants the company town authority to close down the beach, a decision that previously fell under the authority of Cameron County.

    Starship ramping up

    With Starbase’s newly acquired power, the company may decide to close down the beach to support the development of its Starship rocket. Starship is scheduled to liftoff for its 11th test flight on Monday, October 13. Once Starship is fully operational, SpaceX aims to launch its giant rocket from Starbase as many as 25 times a year.

    Local environmental groups in Boca Chica have voiced their concern that Starship’s increased launch cadence will have a negative impact on the local wildlife and surrounding habitat. SpaceX is also facing fines of almost $150,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly illegally dumping pollutants into a Texas waterway without a permit.

     

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    Passant Rabie

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  • Starbase hires Cameron County to police its streets and jail its offenders | TechCrunch

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    Starbase is a city without a police department, but not without police.

    For months, Cameron County sheriff’s deputies have patrolled the roads and beaches surrounding SpaceX’s sprawling rocket facility in South Texas. Now, less than a year after Starbase residents voted to incorporate, the city has signed formal agreements making those deputies its de facto police force and Cameron County jails the destination for anyone arrested within city limits.

    The two interlocal deals, approved in September and effective beginning Wednesday, are sweeping. One requires Cameron County to dedicate eight deputies to Starbase, though only two will patrol the city during a single shift.

    The other sees Cameron County providing “jail services,” with Starbase agreeing to pay $100 per day per inmate and to reimburse the county for additional expenses, like medical care or psychiatric services for inmates.  

    It’s a way of standing up a criminal justice system overnight, without having to build one from scratch. Such arrangements are not unheard of in Texas, especially for the myriad small or newly incorporated towns that may not be able to stand up a full police department on their own.

    But Starbase is not a typical town. The population is small, and most of the residents work for SpaceX. The city itself was finalized only after SpaceX bought up old properties in Boca Chica Village and spread its launch-and-manufacturing activities further afield.

    The law enforcement contract sets up more than just routine patrols. Starbase can also opt to pay for security during “special events” — likely rocket launches, when thousands of spectators descend on the small beach town of Boca Chica to watch Starship’s spectacular flights.

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    The clause allowing extra police for special events is a shrewd move, and it reinforces the idea that Starbase is not a traditional municipality, but a company town built around one purpose: getting Starship flying — frequently.

    The agreement reinforces this fact. While Starbase has its own mayor and commissioners, public safety is carried out by Cameron County. Body camera footage and other records remain with the county, per the agreement, and Starbase residents who have an issue with the local policing will have to take it up with their next-door neighbors. For now, SpaceX has built a town of its own, but the power to enforce laws is still with someone else.

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    Aria Alamalhodaei

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  • SpaceX scrubs Starship test launch minutes before blastoff

    SpaceX scrubs Starship test launch minutes before blastoff

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    SpaceX scrubbed the eagerly anticipated test launch of its giant Starship rocket minutes before blastoff Monday.

    The launch from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, would have been the first flight test to integrate SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy rockets. The largest rocket ever built, Starship is designed to play a key role in returning humans to the Moon, as well as in future Mars exploration.

    SpaceX scrubbed the uncrewed launch attempt about nine minutes before blastoff, apparently because of an issue related to its stage 1 rocket.

    “A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today,” tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

    Related: Elon Musk’s SpaceX pulls another $1.7 billion in funding

    “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt; team is working towards next available opportunity,” SpaceX tweeted.

    When it scrubbed the launch, SpaceX transitioned to a “wet dress rehearsal,” continuing to load propellant. SpaceX also continued its countdown to T-minus 40 seconds.

    “Learned a lot today, now offloading propellant, retrying in a few days,” tweeted Musk.

    “Unfortunately, due to needing to recycle the propellant, we’re looking at a minimum of 48 hours until we are able to attempt this flight test again,” said Kate Tice, SpaceX’s quality systems engineering manager, during the launch livestream.

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