Holy shit! SpaceX at Boca Chica TX just shook my house
I was sitting in my garage watching some construction across the street, and suddenly a tremendous rumbling erupted, easily the loudest and longest of any Static Fires (SF) yet. I instantly knew it was a SF at SpaceX at Boca Chica. I could feel the pressure wave, and we are 6 miles away from SpaceX as the crow flies. A couple of empty plastic containers fell off of a shelf in the garage and spooked me. The SF lasted at least 10-12 seconds.
I tuned into LabPadre online, which has stationed several cameras around the SpaceX facility. They also provide occasional commentary with viewer comments. The SpaceX fan boys were out in force with inane comments like:
"Ooo, do it again!'"
"Launch that sucka!"
"Can't wait to see the damage!!"
There is confusion about how many Raptor engines were included in this SF. Some guessed 9, some guessed 15, some guessed 21. SpaceX does not bother to inform anyone off-site as to when the SF will commence, nor how many engines will be involved. Only afterward will they release that data.
They have launched several rockets already with 3 raptor engines, and those were loud, prolonged, and you could feel the pressure vibrations. Ultimately, Musk wants to launch with 33 engines!!! I cannot imagine how destructive that will be!
You ever notice when a rocket launches from Canaveral in Florida how the flames shoot out to the side? They use flame diverters. Well, I guess Musk decided flame diverters were unnecessary or too expensive at Boca Chica, so the flames shoot out in all directions. He's using us as guinea pigs. This last SF today sent concrete flying in all directions.
I wish this ass would just pack it all up and move his operations to Florida. They've been launching successfully from Canaveral for years. They don't cut corners over there like Musk appears to be doing here.
Local authorities are just so excited to have this facility here (in a generally-depressed economic area) that they let him do whatever he wants. He closes Boca Chica Beach usually 5 days per week, Monday thru Friday, from 8am until about 8pm at night. He is supposed to close it only a few times per week at the most. It pisses me off when I get a text from the facility that says Boca Chica is now open, and it's 8pm or later and pitch black outside. Not many people want to go to the beach in the dark, I know I don't, and besides, it takes about 50 minutes by car to even get there.
Yeah, I also cannot wait to see the damage when Musk fires a rocket with 33 Raptor engines. They say it will be the most powerful rocket ever launched.
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