As part of a federal review process of its plans in South Texas, details of the space show proposed by SpaceX have been made public. They were posted at the end of last week in a public notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting public comment on the changes.
In particular, the new documents include a detailed architectural drawing of the multi-acre site of the southern tip of Texas, along the Gulf of Mexico. Major hardware that exists or will be built includes:
- Two orbital launch platforms, one of which is already under construction
- Two suborbital launch platforms, one of which already exists
- Two landing platforms, one of which already exists
- Two structural tests represent Starship and Super Heavy Booster
- A large “tank farm” to provide ground support equipment for orbital flights
- A permanent position for the Starhopper totemic vehicle at the entrance to the site
What is striking about this architectural design is its compact nature, largely because SpaceX has limited land to work on the installation and must include rainwater ponds to mitigate flooding. All of these facilities will be concentrated on an area of several tens of acres, which is in stark contrast to Florida’s more expansive launch sites at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
However, SpaceX seems confident that it can control the launch and landing of its vehicles so that any inconvenience does not seriously affect nearby equipment. This is a non-traditional and possibly risky bet, but SpaceX has always been willing to take risks during development programs to move faster.
These detailed plans also provide more evidence that the company’s founder, Elon Musk, is in Texas for the future of SpaceX. These four launch platforms, in conjunction with the acquisition of two oil rigs called Phobos and Deimos, provide a sense of the company’s operational capabilities.
The plan is likely to launch from South Texas and land vehicles on these modified platforms and fly ships with ships on South Texas suborbital hops to these platforms for orbital launches. This effectively provides the Starship Launch System with four orbital launch platforms – and possibly a fifth if SpaceX continues to work on the on-site changes at the Kennedy Space Center.
The U.S. Army Corps Review is not the only ongoing regulatory process in South Texas. In addition to the satisfaction of the Army Corps of Engineers, SpaceX also conducts an environmental assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration. Since the first acquisition of the South Texas launch site in 2014, the company’s planned line of business has grown dramatically, from approximately 10 Falcon 9 launches per year to the launch of the massive Starship vehicle. SpaceX is working to provide the FAA with an updated environmental assessment, which the federal agency will then evaluate.
Musk also proposed incorporating the nearby village of Boca Chica into a new town called Starbase, Texas. Such a city should have at least 201 inhabitants and comply with state rules for incorporation. Before the arrival of SpaceX, the small Boca Chica community consisted of dozens of houses. Somewhat controversial in recent years, the company has sought to buy or otherwise dispose of residents so that it has more control over its nearby launch activities.
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
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