Starship Orbital Test Flight

[indigo frigate]

were playing with much higher energy contents now, cant expect the same number of launches as we got at the start

[tacit kite]

I just want s26 off this plane of existence as fast as possible

[rich blade]

this

[indigo frigate]

It was VERY outdated. Still used hydraulics.

so was 24

[rich blade]

literally launched old hardware

[pulsar pollen]

Hm?

Then why launch them?

[brittle spire]

Because data

[pulsar pollen]

Why not the newest booster and Starship?

[rich blade]

wanted to get rid of them

[indigo frigate]

it was the most ready one i guess, good question

[pulsar pollen]

Ahhhhh

[rich blade]

plus data

[white oyster]

to get telemetry and data as its close to what the newer versions are

[umbral karma]

Because Elon said

[pulsar pollen]

I guess the data's a good enough reason

[indigo frigate]

It also had that pipe collapse a while back. Its been repaired multiple times

[brittle spire]

Like they now learned that the interstage isn't strong enough

[pulsar pollen]

the most honest answer lol

[keen plover]

also at the pace spacex moves you will always be running somewhat outdated hardware

[pulsar pollen]

true

that shit got crumbled

[white oyster]

and they were hoping it go smoother to see jhow the TPS tiles would fare

[brittle spire]

Also unironically another thing to note is PR

[proven flame]

Is there any imagery of the TPS?

[brittle spire]

In the end I think this is a big win for the PR side

[proven flame]

In flight

[keen plover]

like im sure by the time B9 is ready there will be sufficient upgrades to w/e the next gen boosters to consider B9 somewhat obselete

[indigo frigate]

Only from shoddy leaks

a few fell off

[remote onyx]

Tbh its properly cheaper to blow up the bad infrastructure than test if it is bad

[indigo frigate]

i wonder if starship has a black box of sorts. Will we get all the onboard footage?

[brittle spire]

That's way worse then intended

At this point Starship was doing loops, and the interstage isn't designed to handle to many lateral loads

[keen plover]

we kinda saw this with the ship 20 booster 4 situation

[rich blade]

i believe it does

saw somewhere that scuba divers were supposed to retrieve it

[indigo frigate]

I reckon the fuel sloshing towards the heat shield side during re entry might make the blown off tiles not such a big deal

[rich blade]

idk where tho, maybe it was mentioned on NSF

[brittle spire]

Like normally it would never deal with loads like this, and the entire interstage was already weakened heavily

[indigo frigate]

its gonna have cryogenic fuel sloshing towards any hot spots during reentry

Is there a link to the onboard footage from each camera on SN15

[umbral karma]

I still can't believe how it managed to flip around like that and not tear in half.

That thing is SOLID

[remote onyx]

Because it supposed to land

[indigo frigate]

same man I was amazed. mach 2 is mach 2 even at 40000ft

[umbral karma]

A F9 is also meant to land

But it would have been gone after the first flip

Its happened before

[indigo frigate]

take the abort test for example

[vagrant moat]

The year is 2027. Starship HLS has just launched to the Moon for its uncrewed landing test. Five Raptors went out at launch and six more after Max-Q. Starship is successfully propelled to TLI via the sheer explosive force of the FTS destroying the booster. There is still no flame trench. The entire city of Brownsville is covered in three inches of pyroclastic ashfall. For every tanker at launch there is also a cement truck continuously pouring concrete into the 500 foot crater below the OLM. The words "flame diverter" were added to the DeSantis administration's national watchlist of thought crimes two years ago. Thousands are dead from flying debris. Hoppy is inexplicably still alive and wears an eyepatch as part of the underground resistance.

[brittle spire]

https://twitter.com/LabPadre/status/1649068688853671940?t=L3MAFwzzym63_OI0S7-uDw&s=19

LabPadre (@LabPadre)

Wild Rover 2 war zone footage with audio. Good stuff! #SpaceX #Starbase #Starship #Superheavy

Likes

3373

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537

▶ Play video

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 3:13 PM

Guys we don't need a flame diverter

[remote onyx]

Real

[brittle spire]

Also the fact that with the launch sequence they sit on the pad with engines firing for 6 seconds

[umbral karma]

They literally pointed the worlds most powerful pressure washer at the ground

[brittle spire]

Which means that you have 33 fires spewing all their thrust into the ground for 8 or so seconds

Actually those first 3 engine casualties may have been from Debris actually

[remote onyx]

Possibly all of them

[brittle spire]

Because we only got the overlay after liftoff

[indigo frigate]

What is the logic of no flame trench?

I dont get it

Make raptors resilient enough to not need it???

[remote onyx]

Apparently they need another enviro assessment

[ebon stratus]

Difficulty with the high water table

[indigo frigate]

OH NO THE TURTLESSSSSSS

[ebon stratus]

dig a couple meters and it floods

[keen plover]

i mean after this they probably will too

[indigo frigate]

the turtles took my plastic straws. I have no empathy for them. May they all perish

[ebon stratus]

Not just turtles

The launch sent particulate miles away and if people breath it

[vagrant moat]

Longer regulatory process and the fact that they're in a literal marsh so digging more than a foot into the ground is going to be massively annoying

[white oyster]

less stuff less work/maintainance, faster turnaround/launch caidance

[ebon stratus]

It can cause respiratory attacks and issues

[brittle spire]

Well now they got a hole dug they can use

[modest heron]

It surely require less maintenance to rebuild the launch pad after every launch

[brittle spire]

Without regulations and stuff

[white oyster]

id say just do something like a 145 degree where it goes into the ground, then back up at an angle

[indigo frigate]

maybe itll dig a big enough hole to not need one

[brittle spire]

They're apperently adding a giant metal/water deluge/flame diverter for later

And they might need to redesign the Florida pad

[pulsar pollen]

8 seconds*

[white oyster]

you mean the sprinklers they have?

[indigo frigate]

did it not have water deluge???????????

[modest heron]

Nope

[indigo frigate]

bruh

[white oyster]

it had a water sprinkler system, but prety much no gushing

[indigo frigate]

some things aint broke and dont need fixing

[pulsar pollen]

They need the water system from Pad 39A/B

[indigo frigate]

the idea of water sound suppressing is known and works

[white oyster]

and they have plenty of water available right there...

[pulsar pollen]

I know moving the Booster and Starship halfway across the country is problematic in its own right

but Starship's test REALLY would've been better at the Cape..

[indigo frigate]

New launch pad IN the water

tell me its dumb

[pulsar pollen]

sea dragon?

[white oyster]

even with potential RUD's?

[pulsar pollen]

...touche

[white oyster]

i mean, raining gators are propably better than grackles

[remote onyx]

Revive sea lauch

[vagrant moat]

Congrats you've built a Sea Dragon

[pulsar pollen]

Eh

[brittle spire]

Well they wanted to do that

But didn't work out

[indigo frigate]

darn environment

[white oyster]

using old oil derricks as mobile launch platforms

[indigo frigate]

we need to take it out of the environment

So its no longer in an environment

[white oyster]

do they still have them?

[indigo frigate]

just like the ship whos front fell off

[vagrant moat]

Yeah it turns out that converting those was WAY harder than they thought it would be, I think they resold them at a loss

[brittle spire]

They resold them ye

[white oyster]

yeah with a pan like that, gutting it all out would just leave a scaffolded barge bascally

[vagrant moat]

Buy a container ship

[pulsar pollen]

Well yeah

[white oyster]

cut a hole in the middle?

ooh a tanker ship could do, change the tanks to hold the fuel/deluge?

[pulsar pollen]

I'm thinking that they should buy one of those Great Lake tankers

[indigo frigate]

sounds like a major explosion risk

[white oyster]

eh if its in the ocean its fine

not like we have underwater vessels

[pulsar pollen]

...unless..

[white oyster]

gigasub?

oh god i can actually imagine, a starship being launched from a submarine

[vagrant moat]

That's the dumbest fucking idea I've ever heard

[brittle spire]

But yeah everything considering they actually launched on the 2.5d ish try

Is kinda insane

[vagrant moat]

Yeah NGL I was expecting a scrub or abort

[remote onyx]

I thought it would abort after like 3 seconds

[vagrant moat]

Thought for sure the hold was gonna be it for today

[brittle spire]

What was the reason they went for this godforsaken tumble stage seperation again?

[white oyster]

hmm if a regular sub missile silos have a diameter of 2m, and a sub is 8m, then if you were to launch a starship from it (excluding flaps/grid fins), it would need to be a 40m diameter sub

[remote onyx]

Atleast held for like 20 minutes

[white oyster]

was incredibly impressed how it didnt just shred itself from the kerbal kracken

[remote onyx]

Not just like oh here we go

[pulsar pollen]

yeah lol

[vagrant moat]

I mean... it kinda did eventually

[pulsar pollen]

the structure held beautifully

[white oyster]

nah the explosion was the safetys firing

[vagrant moat]

Oh wait you mean how well it held up during the tumble

Yeah true that was surprising

[white oyster]

yeah as it was spinning, and turning, like those people in circuses who dance/spin on them ropes

[brittle spire]

Also showing that they can scrub superheavy and properly recycle them within a window

So yeah there are plenty of "wins"

Just well stage sep would've been nice

[white oyster]

hmm theres no correct term for that, other than "rope acrobat"

[next sierra]

They made money on selling them, but not before dumping a shit ton into cleaning them up

It was a stupid idea from the start

[pulsar pollen]

i'm pretty sure they were for Elon's weird "Earth to Earth" thing

and agreed - it was a shit idea from the start

[vagrant moat]

God Earth to Earth is such a fucking meme

[pulsar pollen]

Kinda reminds me of all those ideas NASA had when their budgets was essentially infinite

[vagrant moat]

Yeah

[pulsar pollen]

Like a 1980s manned Mars mission and 70s Venus flyby

[vagrant moat]

Tbf the Venus flyby was less unachievable than it was absolute useless

[pulsar pollen]

The Venus mission was unoffical and more of a napkin concept, IIRC

[vagrant moat]

Yeah

[pulsar pollen]

The Mars mission was legitimately considered though, I think

cant remember much about it

[vagrant moat]

The Venus one was probably more achievable than the Mars one though

Which is a low bar but still

The problem is that it would have been completely and utterly pointless from a scientific standpoint and also wildly dangerous

[pulsar pollen]

true

The designs are still hella interesting

[true aspen]

do you guys think we'll see another ship flight this year? i personally don't think so

[pulsar pollen]

eh, probably

[vagrant moat]

Depends on the OLM

[pulsar pollen]

^

[vagrant moat]

My guess is sometime this winter

[pulsar pollen]

yeah, maybe December

[true aspen]

maybee, would be a nice Christmas present

[pulsar pollen]

Depends on the extent of pad damage, any necessary upgrades to the ship design, and so on

[rich blade]

my complete guess is november but probably will be entirely wrong

[whole hawk]

https://twitter.com/jdeshetler/status/1649128694261350400

Jay L. DeShetler (@jdeshetler)

Food for thought, a similar 3 blast trenches layout from N-1 launch pad (1965) @NASASpaceflight @SpaceX

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 7:11 PM

[true aspen]

i think at this point they'll try to go for a flame diverter

[pulsar pollen]

oh hey wont ya look at that

sensible engineering

[pulsar pollen]

i'd think so

[white oyster]

Sub orbital tank farm would need removing though, and would the EPA allow them to divert the thrust into the reserve like that?

[pulsar pollen]

don't think so

It's gonna take a bit of paperwork

[rich blade]

also the amount of digging is insane

[pulsar pollen]

and probably some convincing

[white oyster]

Dont want birds nesting in there or other animals wondering in

Unless they clear it out before clearing the pad

[loud spire]

That's during fts I think

[pulsar pollen]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1649097087248891904

SpaceX (@SpaceX)

Liftoff from Starbase

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56611

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7055

▶ Play video

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 5:05 PM

https://twitter.com/JaneidyEve/status/1649060179642548225

view from South Padre island

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo (@JaneidyEve)

4/20 View of SpaceX Starship first-ever launch attempt to orbit from Isla Blanca at South Padre Island, Texas. It was AMAZING!! Congrats on lifting off the Starbase launchpad!! @elonmusk @SpaceX

via @Tesmanian_com

Likes

777

▶ Play video

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 2:39 PM

[whole hawk]

https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/12td5fo/this_is_what_went_wrong_with_the_starship_flight/

[next sierra]

It was a real AAP thing, they fleshed out the concept super well, just didn't build much of anything

Ironically if they actually launched when it was planned the crew would've died to a solar storm

[pulsar pollen]

y i k e s

[whole hawk]

This GIF aged well

https://media.tenor.com/U06-eNfsiGgAAAAd/cry-about-it-starship-starship.gif

[remote onyx]

Called it

[rich blade]

this but +39000m

[modest heron]

https://vxtwitter.com/TechSpatiales/status/1649157430457118722

[raven scroll]

so did the booster engines actually shutdown

[rich blade]

nem

well

some did

unintentionally

[raven scroll]

at stage sep I mean

I really don't understand what happened lol

[rich blade]

i dont think the engines shut down

[raven scroll]

it was super slow and just flipped over

[rich blade]

yeah

[raven scroll]

was the call for stage separation early?

like would the booster have kept going?

well no because it was low on lox

[rich blade]

no i think it was on time its just the booster never shut down and the sep never occured

[raven scroll]

in that case that's probably software

[rich blade]

because

well

[raven scroll]

which is slightly scary

[rich blade]

the vehicle was upside down

[umbral karma]

real

[raven scroll]

I do like that SpaceX didn't beat around the bush

[rich blade]

wdym

[umbral karma]

Shoud have fired the starship raptors

Blown the booster away

Funni

[raven scroll]

like every other company would've cut to a wide shot and been like "please wait for more info"

[rich blade]

no cuz then danger of killin the starship engines

[rich blade]

real

everyone just was happy

[raven scroll]

spx were just like yo this looks bad

[whole hawk]

https://twitter.com/deffgeff/status/1649066790041923585

(((Geoff))) (@DeffGeff)

@t @CSI_Starbase @SpaceX This could be the 2nd HPU (Hydraulic Power Unit) letting go? @CSI_Starbase

Credit| @SpaceX

Likes

338

▶ Play video

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 3:05 PM

[keen plover]

I like how the clapping just intensified after RUD lol

[raven scroll]

battery jettison 🙂

[keen plover]

"HPU hot swap"

[whole hawk]

lol

[umbral karma]

could be

If hydraulics failed, that explains why the sep didn't happen

[indigo frigate]

that looks big

Remember the good ol days where their hydraulic system was total loss lmao

[true aspen]

NOOOOO

[pulsar pollen]

I'm thinking that the sep command was given which led to the booster turning around and throttling down as planned
but that doesn't explain the tumbling

[true aspen]

Hpus just gave up 😂

[pulsar pollen]

The tumbling is defo due to imbalances thrust tho

[umbral karma]

nah

[pulsar pollen]

WHO HURT HOPPY

I DECLARE WAR ON CONCRETE

[umbral karma]

The tumble could easily be corrected with the fins

It was under control

The inertia was just too much to correct after sep attempt

[pulsar pollen]

fair

[umbral karma]

[pulsar pollen]

[indigo frigate]

Hot take

IT DIDNT EXPLODE AFTER ALL

just hit the firmament

[pulsar pollen]

I can't even tell if this is satire lmao

[modest heron]

It's probably not

[keen plover]

sadly its likely not

ive seen wayy too many people like this who are dead serious

[pulsar pollen]

Holy crap he's serious

There has always been a part of me that wants to lead flat-earthers on a wild goose-chase of evidence and whistleblowers

[ebon stratus]

Just ignore them

[pulsar pollen]

so I just earn cult status as an undercover agent in the Naval Research Laboratory

[indigo frigate]

I just hope one day space travel is cheap enough that theyll fly and see for themselves

[pulsar pollen]

yeah, the best option

[indigo frigate]

but theyd probably claim theyve been implanted with a microchip which makes their own senses decieve hem

them

[pulsar pollen]

[modest heron]

Just trick them into giving you money

[ebon stratus]

typically people who are flerfs are poorer

[modest heron]

Was a reference to the dude who used their money to build his own rocket

[whole hawk]

New Wallpaper

[true aspen]

There was an attempt™️ wallpaper

[modest heron]

NASA's suns storage

[past robin]

@next sierra @modest heron due to a series of events I was able to watch it live

[indigo frigate]

Anyone know how many engines it can lose and still make orbit?

[modest heron]

[indigo frigate]

Depends on when in the flight I guess

[modest heron]

I wasn't able to

[past robin]

I think it's like 8

[indigo frigate]

god damn

[ebon stratus]

This flight isn’t representative since it was at 90% thrust

[indigo frigate]

Was starship too slow to achieve orbit today upon stage sep?

[ebon stratus]

yes

Way too slow lol

[modest heron]

I remember reading three months ago, not sure if it is (or was) true

[ebon stratus]

Stage Sep was supposed to be much higher and faster

[past robin]

I couldn't sum it up with enough words tbh so I'll just use three: "that was fucked"

[ebon stratus]

It was barely around mach 2 at 39km

[indigo frigate]

how fast was it supposed to be going

[ebon stratus]

A rocket should be hypersonic by then

[true aspen]

I liked it

watched it with some friends

[indigo frigate]

39km sounds about right for stage sep

[ebon stratus]

Maybe around 8,000km/h

[true aspen]

Good footage

[ebon stratus]

Typically around 70-80km for Falcons

[true aspen]

sounds wayyy too low

[ebon stratus]

Yeah 39km is way too low

Losing 6 engines at 90% thrust really hurt it

[modest heron]

And Falcon 9 sep are low

[ebon stratus]

Yeah

SLS releases ICPS in Space

[indigo frigate]

Yeah f9 is way faster and way higher

[rich blade]

yoooo thats epic

how did u find it

[indigo frigate]

Any reason they couldnt throttle up to 100%

[true aspen]

Yeah doesn't the core stage even reach orbital velocities

[past robin]

It was awesome

[ebon stratus]

Yes

[raven scroll]

but why would it attempt sep with running engines

that feels wrong

[indigo frigate]

Hydrogen do be crazy efficient tho

[ebon stratus]

Because the computer fucked itself

[past robin]

What even went wrong

[indigo frigate]

Only reason they can get first stage to orbit

[true aspen]

mannyyyyyy things

[indigo frigate]

many many things

[past robin]

I think it turned before the sep command was actually seny

[hollow knot]

That fake flat earther guy who died in his rocket?

[modest heron]

Yeah

[true aspen]

HPUs giving up, engines failing to light and then going down

[ebon stratus]

I agree with the Scott Manley take that the low speed and high AOA caused it to flip

[indigo frigate]

Biggest being the hydraulic failure

[raven scroll]

There is absolutely no way spx didn't test stage separation code

[rich blade]

also the fact that i believe 8 engines shut down before the FTS was activated

[ebon stratus]

Im surprised the AFTS didn’t activate sooner

[modest heron]

It's worrying

[past robin]

I saw it turn and I was like holy fuck hit FTS

[rich blade]

im surprised the thing didnt break apart by itself

[true aspen]

yeah that seemed like wayy too long of a spin

[ebon stratus]

Once it detected the whole vehicle upside down it should’ve detonated

[past robin]

It flipped like 5 times which is not nominal

[true aspen]

that too, i didn't think it would handle the loads

[indigo frigate]

it detected the firmament and had to turn around. NASA DOESNT WANT YOU KNOWING THIS

[raven scroll]

nominal

[indigo frigate]

norminal

[raven scroll]

it's probably conservative

[rich blade]

suboptimal if u will

[ebon stratus]

It spun like 4 times

[past robin]

Imagine if it kept going after first flip lol

[indigo frigate]

lmao I wish

Ive done that too many times in KSP

[ebon stratus]

Yeah at that point I don’t think there was enough thrust to counter the inertia

[modest heron]

You don't want to be conservative with the biggest missile ever made

[ebon stratus]

Yeah lol

[white oyster]

New loading screen icon/wheel

[true aspen]

when i first watched it watched with no volume or subtitles so i thought they were still going to try and avoid debris hitting something else

[pulsar pollen]

THIS

[indigo frigate]

Its center of pressure is far above center of mass, instant it has a few degrees AOA it wants to fly backwards.

[past robin]

So it can flip 4 times and yet it still can't handle the loads at MAX-Q

[raven scroll]

it's probably set to not deviate out of a set channel and it might've just flipped and took a while to flip out of the channel

[indigo frigate]

It doesnt help that the grid fins dont fold

[past robin]

What aspect ratio would this even fit on

[ebon stratus]

If it flew at that AOA at a higher altitude it would be fine

[rich blade]

interstage was also apparently f'ed up

[white oyster]

Hmm i might actually do that, make it within unity

[raven scroll]

it also probably doesn't give as much of a shit the higher it gets

you can afford leniency when you're 30k up

[true aspen]

it looked good on the live didn't it

[ebon stratus]

No

[raven scroll]

on another note

[ebon stratus]

There was a noticeable crumple in the engine bay cam

[raven scroll]

Booster 7 fucking flew

[indigo frigate]

someone do a lil calculation on the dynamic pressure of starships separation today, and an average F9 sep

[rich blade]

thats what i thought but apparently it wasnt

[raven scroll]

despite that tube

[rich blade]

YE EXACTLY this thing which has survived a broken transfer tube and an explosive fart

[indigo frigate]

ill bet the pressure was way higher on todays flight, making the flip impossible

[ebon stratus]

Well, tumbling at that altitude in that speed doesn’t have much aero loads

It would’ve been worse if it was Mach 4-5 and tumbling

[raven scroll]

wher? https://lunus.xyz/Yjk7DY.png

[indigo frigate]

where?

[tacit kite]

booster 7 kept going through pure spite

[true aspen]

everything looked good on the interstage and its engines

[past robin]

My mind kept jumping back to the first Firefly launch

[indigo frigate]

[ebon stratus]

There’s a gif somewhere hold on

[true aspen]

Spacex acquires firefly areospace

[raven scroll]

losing a raptor centre was a little shit tbf

[indigo frigate]

B7 was ANGRY

[raven scroll]

reduced tvc

[past robin]

Right yeah this is that one

[raven scroll]

did someone say that one of the engines totally blew up

[tacit kite]

hopefully b9 testing goes a bit smoother

[ebon stratus]

Yeah

[past robin]

I want this on a shirt

[true aspen]

it did look like there was a fire in the engine bay

[ebon stratus]

At T+30 there was a noticeable explosion and smoke cloud

[raven scroll]

iron man core shirt

[past robin]

I noticed that when I re-watched it

[raven scroll]

oh damn yh

[past robin]

Like that one NSF shirt where it's the starship engine pattern but it's this

[rich blade]

so, second flight just like N1 second launch and falls back onto the pad ?

[raven scroll]

followed by a single engine dropoff on the graphic

which is also fucking cool

[past robin]

My mind was blown by the graphic

[raven scroll]

considering a lot of people thought this thing would have failure cascades

the graphics were really fucking cool

leaning into the idea that they weren't gonna get all the engines to go at once

[past robin]

I thought it would shut down the engines opposite

[rich blade]

nah

[past robin]

I think that the graphic showing engines which died is genius

[true aspen]

the engines one was goated

[past robin]

Also the engine which died then came back lol

[keen plover]

funniest part it I didnt even notice it in my excitement

[true aspen]

not over yet

[past robin]

It was like one of my focuses

[raven scroll]

might only happen if there's a lot of engine failure or maybe it doesn't do it if there's lots of engines shutting down

[obsidian spoke]

https://twitter.com/AmericaSpace/status/1649155437646708736?s=20

AmericaSpace (@AmericaSpace)

@wapodavenport That still doesn't answer a few questions:

1. Why didn't SB's G&C not self-destruct until it tumbled for ~1:20s?
2. Why didn't Starship, the launch abort system, not?
3. Why did SB's G&C not terminate launch after engine outs on pad?
4. What caused 3-6 engines to fail?
5. Pad?

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 8:57 PM

So stupid

[raven scroll]

I do question how it didn't get fast enough

[tacit kite]

i want that ui on F9 streams

[raven scroll]

(presumably)

[past robin]

I think it needs a timeline

[true aspen]

i do want to know what caused so many engines to fail tho

[ebon stratus]

Loss of thrust in a few engines Id assume

[raven scroll]

almost always gonna be a ring of 8 with one in the centre, all white

[ebon stratus]

That explosion had to have damaged quite a few

[raven scroll]

hrm

noticably red in there? https://lunus.xyz/7HuNbo.png

hot engine bells or something more sinister

[tacit kite]

yeah, clean it up a bit, shrink the engine diagram, and add timeline

[rich blade]

prob a fire

[true aspen]

definitely a fire

[white oyster]

With several engines out, wouldnt they have to reduce flow rate of fuel so they dont overdo them?

[ebon stratus]

We didn’t even get to the point of noticeable flame creep

[true aspen]

B7 went through hell and back just to get blown up 😂

[white oyster]

Yeah clearly a fire on tbe spacex stream

[raven scroll]

so

[tacit kite]

https://twitter.com/rgvaerialphotos/status/1649165909443919873?s=46&t=H7vad8McEv-yOITgxhVk8Q

RGV Aerial Photography (@RGVaerialphotos)

Here is an aerial view taken today of the damage to the concrete surrounding the OLM.

@elonmusk flame trench by the next Starship Launch?

Full gallery will be available at https://t.co/l5nZ12tVTO or subscribe to our twitter

Likes

172

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 9:39 PM

[raven scroll]

same time next year?

[tacit kite]

good LORD

[whole hawk]

Maybe for a phone it looks good

[ebon stratus]

They would have to reduce the thrust of the engines opposite to the ones that failed

[rich blade]

why is it so clean

[true aspen]

wouldn't TVC be able to keep up

[rich blade]

such a nice rectangle cut out

[raven scroll]

wouldn't that also decrease fuel usage

[white oyster]

I would not have tweeted that because you know who could delete it if he really wanted to XD

[past robin]

My phone is 21:9

[fast terrace]

idk maybe something moved the dust a few hours ago

[raven scroll]

intense wind

[modest heron]

Based

[rich blade]

no i meant why the concrete was so nicely blasted off

[past robin]

Nvm it looks great

[modest heron]

Aldi

[rich blade]

new homescreen background

[modest heron]

Starship

[keen plover]

get that outta here 💀

[modest heron]

No

[rich blade]

this remains as the lock screen 😁

[keen plover]

I will mercilessly hate on the Airane 5 for no rational reason

[keen plover]

heh that was mine as well for a while

[modest heron]

Just jealous of one of the most successful commercial rocket ever

[keen plover]

doesnt make me hate it less 😛

[past robin]

Yeah

[keen plover]

same reason i'm not even that big a F9 fan

I like it for its effectiveness and its economic success

[past robin]

Thiiiis is my home screen

I should replace it with starship

[keen plover]

but as a rocket itself its kinda meh for me

[rich blade]

love it how of the 4 debuts this year so far all 4 have failed

[modest heron]

It's beautiful irl

[rich blade]

well

not love but kinda funny

[true aspen]

[ebon stratus]

yes, which factors into the TWR decrease

[true aspen]

the best way to start the year

[past robin]

SLS
Wait that was last year

[ebon stratus]

With that much thrust imbalance, I doubt it

And with that crumple

[true aspen]

yeah it makes sense

[keen plover]

sorry im a delta 2 fanboy 😎

[past robin]

Which

[ebon stratus]

The center of gravity would not be where it should be

[true aspen]

too many outer engines got killed

[past robin]

Yeah I'm surprised it was more outer ones and only 1 inner

[white oyster]

I just have a really furry alien-like animal with big glistening eyes and button smiling mouth as my homescreen
Lock screen is android randomised of many landscape images

[keen plover]

Also liked the DIVM, and 4m Atlas V

[modest heron]

2 inner

[true aspen]

how can you like DIVM

[past robin]

Oh ah

[modest heron]

Out of the three

[white oyster]

Ooh i might be able to customise android do it randomises between different rockets

[keen plover]

I actually think it looks good (this is also getting increasingly unrelated to Starship OTF)

[past robin]

You're wrong !!!

[ebon stratus]

The outer ones were the most exposed to falling debris on the initial ascent

[keen plover]

Too bad

[next sierra]

Napkin math says 5 engines (at 100% liftoff thrust), at 90% and potential underperformance on the "working" engines 3 sounds about right

[true aspen]

could've possibly be damaged by concrete at liftoff too

[rich blade]

mfw the wikipedia page for starship finally says that "It is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever flown"

[past robin]

Perhaps they throttled the engines up when some died

[keen plover]

raptor 109% throttle wen

[modest heron]

The launch was doomed from the start then

[past robin]

Wait this means SpaceX's success streak is gone

[next sierra]

That's right at liftoff, as they go further they can lose more

[rich blade]

that is true

[keen plover]

I mean, does this count any more than the hops?

[past robin]

Man there's too many words for this launch

[past robin]

Good point

[rich blade]

well yea i guess

[past robin]

I mean it is the highest starship launch

[rich blade]

was also intended to go to "orbit"

[keen plover]

clearly this was just supposed to be a 40km hop test from the start

[rich blade]

clearly

[keen plover]

side task of digging the flame trench

[past robin]

How does the orbital pad look

[keen plover]

its also an explicit pure R&D launch with no payload

[rich blade]

yes true

[tacit kite]

I fucking love methalox

[next sierra]

Well... It looks like this Elon tweet aged beautifully and terribly

[past robin]

Maybe there was a payload

[rich blade]

cheese

[past robin]

Jesus fucking christ it looks nuked

[keen plover]

Scott manley?

[next sierra]

Dmitry Rogozin

[keen plover]

Putin himself

[rich blade]

yknow today was a good day

[shell python]

no lmao, they would’ve just blasted their crew infrastructure with concrete

[past robin]

It launched yesterday in my time

[ebon stratus]

Oh it seems there’s speculation that when the HPU blew up, some gimballing capability was lost

Which makes sense

[keen plover]

"haha sorry guys LC-39A has been sandblasted to so no F9 Dragon launches for you"

[modest heron]

||Only his dick||

[past robin]

Empty

[true aspen]

how many HPUS are in superheavy? 3?

[next sierra]

Two

[rich blade]

2

[true aspen]

did they both get kaboomed or only 1

[next sierra]

They lost both of them, aka all gimbal

[rich blade]

both i think

[true aspen]

lmao both of them got nuked

[past robin]

What are HPUs

[true aspen]

How does that happen

[next sierra]

One at T+29 or so and the other around a minute in

[true aspen]

Hydraulic power unit

[rich blade]

well thats getting solved next booster

cuz electric TVC

[keen plover]

who knows maybe the concrete knocked em out too

[ebon stratus]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1092586849605791845/1098728354154283119/chrome_I5UWmBKJK7.gif

[past robin]

I need so many starship pics omg

[shell python]

like all of that stuff is gonna need to be undone

[keen plover]

"Its uncanny how easy it is"

[past robin]

This is shrimply not loading for me

[proven flame]

Starship launch today really makes me appreciate how dead perfect SLS's first launch was.

[modest heron]

BuT iTeRaTiVe DeSiGn

[proven flame]

They both have their benefits/drawbacks

[shell python]

no

[umbral karma]

Reminder than SLS is the rocket which has flown

(and not upside down)

[ebon stratus]

I remember people criticized Artemis I for having go-fever

[keen plover]

I mean when you are using engines and hardware/tech with 20-30+ years of flight experience... I'm not sure you really expect different. Not saying this to diss SLS but it is a factor

[shell python]

doesn’t fix they’re chucking stuff into a wildlife preserve

[past robin]

If SN8»SN9 was anything to go by then the next launch is going to be an even more catastrophic failure

[ebon stratus]

A lot of the people that had the experience left NASA before SLS flew

[shell python]

yeah they’re about to go through stuff on the environment side

[ebon stratus]

they had to relearn almost every operation during the pre-launch campaign

[proven flame]

With iterative it's quick and you fly often. With NASA, it takes a long time but you can be damn well sure the thing it's gonna be perfect first try.

[rich blade]

N1 reference

[modest heron]

I'm well aware

[proven flame]

This is true

[keen plover]

true but a lot of the hardware was still flight proven

[ebon stratus]

And supposedly hardware on Starship was flight proven as well

[keen plover]

you have a stage 1 powered by STS hardware, upper stage based off an existing 2nd stage powered by an engine thats been in use since the 60s

[shell python]

we love leaks

[keen plover]

Raptor does not have 20+ years of flight experience lol

[shell python]

i wish they ignited ship anyway lmao

[rich blade]

yeah lol

[ebon stratus]

But it does have flight experience, and hardware rich experience

[shell python]

and the skirt, wonder if it could’ve headed on

[ebon stratus]

it probably has more test stand time than RS-25

[keen plover]

very limited

[shell python]

other companies also don’t test by boom so

[rich blade]

look, both Starship and SLS are complex vehicles

[shell python]

TRUE

[keen plover]

we also have to realize that we dont know how much of today could literally just be concrete go brrrrrr

[rich blade]

starship may be a little bit more complex

[past robin]

Let's embrace the fact that THIS THING FLEW

[shell python]

no it was supposed to happen, just kept happening

[past robin]

SN8 reference

[ebon stratus]

Also whoever suggest using steel to cover the concrete is a little dumb

[umbral karma]

Im a big fan of thrust under skirts

[rich blade]

YES EXACTLY

i still cant believe it

[hollow knot]

It still feels sureal

[rich blade]

most powerful rocket in history

[past robin]

I went nuts

[modest heron]

[ebon stratus]

I watched with my physics class

[rich blade]

ever made

[shell python]

verified user

[past robin]

Does anyone remember this

[hollow knot]

I watched in the bathroom skipping class

[keen plover]

SN8 concrete damage from its SF's?

[rich blade]

yes ofc

[past robin]

No, nonono

[past robin]

Yeah

[shell python]

well one tried but his chute didn’t work

[rich blade]

good view of tanks

[keen plover]

"This may be a mistake"

-elon

[shell python]

you thought binary star systems were cool

[rich blade]

always thought the tanks were a bit close to the OLM

[whole hawk]

https://VXtwitter.com/SpaceX/status/1649172873494556679

[rich blade]

OK NO STOP THIS IS EPIC

[modest heron]

Pretty sure everyone at SpaceX told him it'd be a mistake

[shell python]

i mean they probably went up 10% in thrust when they lost 10% of engines

[past robin]

Holy macaroni

That's fucked

[shell python]

a 40km sep is heavily off nominal, this is basically if LV0006 kept rolling

[past robin]

They need to replace those

[shell python]

/DREAM

[shell python]

didn’t activate til out of corridor even with failure, prob to avoid pad boom

[hollow knot]

Bro wtf

I say 926 dosent fly until 2 years later

[rich blade]

idk about 2

[hollow knot]

Actually no

Starship will be cancelled

[shell python]

it’s like a dad that’s like DO I NEED TO TURN THIS CAR AROUND MISTER

[hollow knot]

I'm joking obviously

[rich blade]

Terran 1 moment

[keen plover]

I mean I wouldnt expect it

but if it did end up taking 2

[hollow knot]

I do think there's a chance we might see if launch again before the end of the year

[keen plover]

I wouldnt be terribly surprised

[pulsar pollen]

I'm almost confident that we'll see another launch this winter

[past robin]

That's what I was thinking

[keen plover]

"We have decided we are moving onto super heavy heavy"

[past robin]

It's autumn here

[rich blade]

triple core starship

[pulsar pollen]

December

[keen plover]

99 engines at liftoff

still no flame trench

[past robin]

Wowee

[modest heron]

Given how the whole pad + concrete debris was underestimated the FAA will not be happy

[shell python]

me and her have a lotttt in common

[past robin]

It's gonna be hard to get permission for another launch

[rich blade]

idk

[umbral karma]

Better focus on the cape tower

[next sierra]

REAL

[shell python]

iss game over

[rich blade]

wouldnt be surprised if we saw a launch at the end of the year but wouldnt be surprised if we saw one a year from now

[umbral karma]

And the concrete snow

[ebon stratus]

I doubt it, depends on the integrity of the mounts foundation

And how long it takes to repair it

[next sierra]

FMU FAA doesn't have jurisdiction here

[modest heron]

Yeah

[tacit kite]

honestly I say 926 in 2nd half of october

[modest heron]

https://twitter.com/pblodlr/status/1649059706218991617

Pablo De La Rosa (@pblodlr)

Getting reports from multiple people now of “particulates” raining down in areas of Port Isabel after the nearby explosion of the SpaceX rocket stack Starship/Superheavy, 4 minutes after liftoff this morning from Boca Chica in the Rio Grande Valley.

Likes

3675

Retweets

1414

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 2:37 PM

[shell python]

i can’t wait

[modest heron]

This is unacceptable

[past robin]

Nominal

[rich blade]

i said B9S26 in november but that is purely a guess lol

[umbral karma]

Human made volcano

[past robin]

Isn't S26 scrapped

[rich blade]

dont think so

[modest heron]

They have jurisdiction to give a launch licence for the next attempt

[past robin]

Well imma go

[rich blade]

same

[past robin]

School

[rich blade]

i need to sleep

[true aspen]

oh the FAA is NOT going to be happy

[past robin]

The FDA too

[keen plover]

yeah thats not a good sign at all

[rich blade]

mfw sand rain

[past robin]

I will not elaborate

[shell python]

or the EPA

[keen plover]

stuff like this gives environmental groups actual stuff to criticize them for

[keen plover]

OSHA

[shell python]

they’ve been violating for a longgggg time

[rich blade]

so, now that SFT 1 has happened, whats next
Artemis II or SFT 2

[true aspen]

New glenn reaches orbit successfully before starship

[modest heron]

New Glenn might succeed on its first attempt ngl

[keen plover]

4/20/2024 for IFT 2

[true aspen]

i see it happening

[rich blade]

yknow my bet this whole time is that vulcan will win the methalox race to orbit

[true aspen]

wonder how the whole centaur V investigation is going

[keen plover]

I mean for a while thats been the safest bet

[true aspen]

I need to see that thing fly soo baaad

[keen plover]

Starship was a big question mark + depends if you count its intended path as orbit

[rich blade]

now it could win depending on when zq 2 flies

[modest heron]

Will def be ZQ-2 imo

[shell python]

SFT 2

[past robin]

It's not full methalox tho

[modest heron]

Not really

Landscape was really close

[rich blade]

yeah ik but its still classed as a methane launcher

id say the safest bets were terran 1 and zhuque

[modest heron]

Yeah

[keen plover]

Eh i would have put VC over terran 1

[past robin]

Terran none

[rich blade]

starship was probably the least safest bet

felt like starship would be the last to reach orbit of the 4

[past robin]

Tbh my bet is that terran 1 will be the last

[keen plover]

Well now it wont for sure

[rich blade]

yeah

[rich blade]

ooh idk about that

quite unsafe

[modest heron]

Since ZQ-2 is almost ready for its second attempt, chances are high

[keen plover]

I mean if they dont launch it again I think its last by definition 💀

[past robin]

Literally disqualified

[rich blade]

defo has highest chance

[past robin]

Inb4 terran r is before everything

[rich blade]

DNF

[rich blade]

in before Themis wins race

[keen plover]

Neutron launches tomorrow

[past robin]

Is neutron keralox

[keen plover]

methalox iirc

[next sierra]

ZQ-2 is literally the only one still in the race

[rich blade]

was

[shell python]

it’s like the americans and landing in the moon

[rich blade]

back like 6+ months ago

when there were 4 rockets in the race

[true aspen]

damn Verniers

[rich blade]

now there's like, one, like u said

[next sierra]

ZQ-2: Preparing for Y2 this summer
Terran 1: Retired
Starship: Nuked launch pad
Vulcan Centaur: Not in the race since Centaur V is hydrolox
Terran R: Vaporware
Neutron: Slightly less vaporware but still years off

[true aspen]

I was genuinely expecting starship to reach orbit for some reason

hey thats not fair Vulcan does deserve a spot on the Methalox race

[rich blade]

tbh same, idk why I just felt like being optimistic

[rich blade]

it does

always has been

[next sierra]

I'll die on this hill
Besides, we're still looking at probably at least six months before Cert-1

[keen plover]

TBH i was as well lol

I still had the realistic side of me saying "nah"

[rich blade]

like when talking about the methalox race there were always 4, starship Terran zhuque and Vulcan

[true aspen]

Why so much? I don't think the Centaur Investigation would take that long

[keen plover]

but I legit was hoping for at least MECO/sep and S2 ignition, but I will not complain about wha we got

[shell python]

is it just me or did the full stack look smaller than i was expecting

[true aspen]

cameras were wayyyyy too zoomed out

[keen plover]

though if this turns out to be a concrete moment I will actually be mildly upset

[true aspen]

didn't do it justice

[manic frigate]

Beautiful Launch

[shell python]

yeah same, imagine the views and how cool it would be if it worked

[true aspen]

same

[rich blade]

could just be u, it looked massive taking off

imo

[manic frigate]

I wanted to see the qds

That would’ve been rly cool too see

[true aspen]

i wanted to see a pad liftoff shot kind of how artemis I did it

it was so good

[manic frigate]

Of course

[shell python]

like in a way the proportions were off

booster should’ve been longer

[manic frigate]

Starship had to go summer saluting

[keen plover]

ah yes the dust cam™️

[shell python]

let’s hope cosmic perspective got some stuff

[rich blade]

can't wait for their stuff

anyway imma go now, today was an amazing day, see u people later

[fluid bobcat]

it was sand

someone got their laptop covered in it

[pulsar pollen]

Tim Dodd's stream also mentioned it

they got covered in dust, initally thinking it was rain

[pulsar pollen]

Because of the Mechazilla next to it and a lack of humans/cars for perspective

and the lack of live launchpad cams

[shell python]

remember how B7 was never going to fly because of the downcomer

i was dead sure it was toast

that downcomer is absolutely in worse shape now though

[shell python]

still seemed stubby

[white oyster]

Hmm you know what? Im glad they didnt do this test on the moon

If it could do that much damage to the pad, just imagine the crater it would make on the moon!

[pulsar pollen]

Courtesy of Matt Lowne

[whole hawk]

Q4

Minimum

[remote onyx]

Has any debris washed up yet

[umbral karma]

Probably at the bottom of the gulf

Some hermit crab just got a big ass shell

[vagrant moat]

This might actually be an interesting race too

[true aspen]

Artemis II

[true aspen]

Hermit crab capable of withstanding 600 degrees Celsius thanks to its new starship TPS shell

[shell python]

https://twitter.com/JoeTegtmeyer/status/1649193879554478082?s=20

Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer)

Look what I found! 🚀😎

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 11:30 PM

this thing is literally firefly DREAM

[umbral karma]

[vagrant moat]

?

[shell python]

the first alpha

[vagrant moat]

I didn't actually watch the first Alpha launch

I know it failed

That's about it

[indigo frigate]

what is this butthole thing

some sort of way to clear explosive gases?

[umbral karma]

Copium purge

[hollow knot]

A starbrick right?

[shell python]

fire suppression i think

[shell python]

yeah

[shell python]

it spun like we saw today

[whole moat]

That one’s coming from the hold down arms itself so I think it’s actually the spin-up gases for the outer 20 engines. There does exist something like what you describe but I believe it‘a lower down

[umbral karma]

Those raptor failures I bet were from concrete breaking shit

Spacex had to deal with this design flaw

Before the next attempt (if they are allowed)

[indigo frigate]

theyll be allowed, government would be shooting themselves in the foot to delay

[umbral karma]

Doubt

FAA is gonna be very pissed about the environmental impact

Turtles huffing concrete dust

[shell python]

disagree, it’s a critical habitat and you can’t just fuck those up

[indigo frigate]

oh yeah they probably didnt factor the sheer cloud of concrete lmao

thats probably a way bigger environmental hazard than the ship

[whole hawk]

https://twitter.com/rgvaerialphotos/status/1649201135041880064

RGV Aerial Photography (@RGVaerialphotos)

This is the location for the remote camera setup, you can see multiple railings blown over. I'd be amazed if those cameras survived

Likes

127

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 11:59 PM

[shell python]

do we have hoppy info?

[pulsar pollen]

Hoppy looks fine to me, but I've heard that concrete has given it some bruises

[shell python]

gotcha

wasn’t sure if tanks were compromised

[vagrant moat]

Oh lmao oof

[indigo frigate]

hoppy is a strong dood

hes chill

[gleaming schooner]

https://twitter.com/Firefly_Space/status/1649215921485955074?s=20

Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space)

We could feel the excitement from our headquarters in Austin, TX! Congrats on another big milestone today @SpaceX. #GoBigTexas

▶ Play video

Twitter · Apr 21, 2023, 12:58 AM

[next sierra]

[vagrant moat]

Officially ruled a failure by the Space Police
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1649146583991087111?t=Fmf-rxtL2DGv6l80ehvM_A&s=19

Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589)

Although the Starship flight test was planned as what I call a 'marginal orbit' not fully orbital, and not really expected to get that far anyway, I'm assigning today's flight a regular 'orbital launch failure' designation, 2023-F05.

Likes

804

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 8:22 PM

[hollow plaza]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1649055665405726725?t=q5YsCs9l4J8tf13YAGO9EQ&s=19

John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos)

Another shot of Starship's first big flight today. A few Raptors were lost on the way up, but she kept going and going and going until she couldn't.

It's hard to describe what it was like to experience the excitement of today. Amazing!

Likes

43269

Retweets

3876

Twitter · Apr 20, 2023, 2:21 PM

6 engines out, 2 more on the way out

Man

I should have totally expected it

[sharp flower]

Can’t believe it’s actually gone forever

Been standing there the last 2 years

[hollow plaza]

Those engines were sitting on B7 for basically a year

[hollow plaza]

seriously

[sharp flower]

B7 was so obsolete

Kinda makes sense why they just wanted to send it

[hollow plaza]

Tbh I'm surprised they kept it after the explosion

[pulsar pollen]

it was either send it or scrap it

[hollow plaza]

Seems like they would have done anything to move alone in the vehicle tech tree

[hollow plaza]

Scrap it, you already have another vehicle nearing completion

[next sierra]

At this rate they may skip 9/26 and 10/27

[pulsar pollen]

?

[next sierra]

Might as well, they're not going to be able to properly test them anytime soon

[pulsar pollen]

for what?

ohhh the stacks

nvm

[hollow plaza]

Isn't 26 the one without flaps and a heat shield?

[next sierra]

Yep

Same with 27, except 27 has a PEZ

[hollow plaza]

Interesting

[next sierra]

28 is the next block and the next after 25 with a TPS and flaps

[hollow plaza]

Then next will probably be 28 and whatever booster is next

I think they'll skip a few because the next booster will need some big design upgrades

[next sierra]

I hope SN11 and now this finally gets them to knock it off re: flying cooked vehicles

[hollow plaza]

Stronger interstage, engines that don't explode, etc

[next sierra]

All of this is retrofit-able

[hollow plaza]

In still shocked it got as far as it did with raptors activity exploding in the engine bay

[next sierra]

Same

With no TVC and six engines out I have no clue how it even made it through Max-Q

Much less BECO with eight engines out and god knows what else

[vagrant moat]

I was surprised that it made it through Max-Q too

But also... the thing wasn't going anywhere near the speed it was supposed to be thanks to six engines going out. Could that have lessened the forces at Max-Q?

[hollow plaza]

Did BECO even happen?

I still don't know the story on that lol

[next sierra]

Yes, they were probably at like 60% throttle at Max-Q

[vagrant moat]

Gotcha

[hollow plaza]

seems like they just turned off SAS and hit the boom button when it started falling lol

[next sierra]

....well... The booster engines certainly cut off...

[hollow plaza]

... after the FTS was activated

[vagrant moat]

https://tenor.com/view/meme-gif-20591327

BECO is BECO

[loud spire]

Does the daily hopper still exist

[loud spire]

They forgot sas the whole Time

Or well jest at the end

[shell python]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1649222052111417344?s=20

Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589)

@AstroLepra Actually I'm the suborbital police too, but undercover.

Twitter · Apr 21, 2023, 1:22 AM

[shell python]

yes

[sharp flower]

I can’t wait until some starship debris washes ashore in wherever it does and sells it on eBay

[past robin]

Yeah

[river raven]

Ok so if you get close to Starbase from the Mexican side you can be at least 3 miles away from the pad.

I'm gonna do this one day, dont care if I put myself at risk

vs. the 5 miles from South Padre Island...
I'll flying into Mexico

oh snap wrong image

[sharp flower]

You could wait a day then go to boca chica beach

[river raven]

3 MILES

[river raven]

I'd rather see the launch 3 miles away

or maybe go to Boca Chica the day before and then go to Mexico for the launch

[sharp flower]

Oh I thought you meant to look for parts mb

[river raven]

oh no lol

that could actually be dangerous tho

[whole hawk]

I found this on TikTok

Support Stage 0

[river raven]

Would debris fly towards me from 3 miles away tho?

across the border

[vagrant moat]

Starship doesn't have a visa so you're safe

[river raven]

I already am familiar with crossing the border so this would be perfectly normal for me

just on the other coast

I'm from Cali/Baja

[vagrant moat]

Was trying to make a dumb joke

[ebon stratus]

If it explodes yes

[river raven]

shit

I would hide behind the lighthouse then for cover

[vagrant moat]

As in, the debris isn't legally allowed to cross the border without a visa

That was the joke

[river raven]

the lighthouse in question

in Bagdad Beach

[vagrant moat]

Man you know here's one thing I never understood

Who the fuck goes out to every concrete building in the middle of nowhere and covers it in graffiti

Like in the city I get it

[river raven]

it's in a very peculiar and unique place

the eastern end of the border

[vagrant moat]

Ah gotcha

[river raven]

so a lot of people have been there

[vagrant moat]

Yeah that makes sense

[river raven]

I've been to the western end of the border

in Tijuana

[vagrant moat]

But still, just in general who the fuck is graffitiing every abandoned building in the desert

[whole hawk]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYvh7HCn/

Loool

[river raven]

very fascinating place, how the border fence goes into the ocean and then stops

[hollow knot]

Tijuana

[vagrant moat]

Who is driving 50 miles into the Mojave to write their tag on the abandoned army complexes

Like, the shit that happened to Buran

Why would you bother to do that

[river raven]

ik

Im from east of Tijuana

[hollow knot]

Noice

Zacatecas

[river raven]

Mexicali-Calexico border area

no

[hollow knot]

I am from

[river raven]

My family is from Mexicali

ah

[hollow knot]

Nice

[river raven]

I live by the coast now but I was born in Imperial County

After I was born I lived in Mexico, I even went to school in America despite living in Mexico

[vagrant moat]

The only thing I can ever think of when I hear about Tijuana is the bit in Futurama where Bender says "we're a stone's throw from Tijuana" then he throws a rock over the border fence and hits some guy in the head who says something like "OUCH, woe is me, what a horrible day here in Tijuana, Mexico" in a comically loud voice to no one in particular

[river raven]

yeah the barrier is literally in urban areas like that

[hollow knot]

https://tenor.com/view/mexican-giga-chad-giga-chad-gif-26351193

@river raven

[vagrant moat]

It still fucks me up that they built a city on the border between California and Mexico then decided to name the two halves "Mexicali" and "Calexico"

[river raven]

It's called a 'portmanteu'

[vagrant moat]

True

[river raven]

half a word with another half of a word

[vagrant moat]

Yes I know

But it's funny how on-the-nose American names for places are

[river raven]

Mexicali and Calexico were founded more than 100 years ago by an American land colonization company

[vagrant moat]

Makes sense

[loud spire]

New Shepard

[river raven]

before then they were practically the same place and the border wasnt enforced much yet

[vagrant moat]

Yeah that segment is basically in the middle of the Mojave isn't it

[river raven]

no

Colorado Desert

the Mojave is way north

[vagrant moat]

Oh right that's the Imperial Valley

[river raven]

yea

My lands

My dearest native land

Tierra natal

[vagrant moat]

Sorry we dumped like several million gallons of river water in there and fucked up everything

[river raven]

not really

without it nobody would have lived there

[vagrant moat]

Yeah true

[river raven]

They made the desert bloom :)

[vagrant moat]

But the Salton Sea itself is kind of a disaster isn't it

[river raven]

One of the greatest civil engineering projects in American history too

[vagrant moat]

Yeah

[river raven]

Yes it was an accident, and now highly toxic. Tbf it dumps from Mexico so they cant really regulate it

they need to sign some kind of international agreement for that

[vagrant moat]

Yeah

[river raven]

The Laguna Salada used to be full of water too back then but dried up

That place is so beautiful honestly

[vagrant moat]

Oh yeah wasn't like, the whole Imperial Valley an even larger lake that wasn't toxic and was actually ecologically normal until like the 1300s or so

[river raven]

That's Lake Cahuilla

[vagrant moat]

Yeah

[river raven]

prehistoric lake, also the reason the entire region is below sea level

it used to be connected with the Gulf of California

[vagrant moat]

What is it with the American West and giant endorheic lakes that used to exist in the desert

Glaciers I guess

[river raven]

it's so mesmerizing driving down the highway and seeing the flat horizon in the middle of nowhere

it's flatter than you can imagine

next to a mountain range that is like more than 4000 feet tall

[vagrant moat]

I get the same feeling when I stand on a big hill over the prairie here in Texas

[shell python]

fwiw matamoros has a reputation for americans being sunk soooooo not the best place to go

[vagrant moat]

I love being able to see incredible distances over land

[river raven]

i am already mexican so I'll get along fine

[vagrant moat]

So far the horizon sinks beneath you

[shell python]

because it’s famously hard to get to so it’s a prize

[vagrant moat]

True

[river raven]

I go back and forth Tijuana all the time, which is the most dangerous city in the world. And I never get into any trouble

[vagrant moat]

Mogadishu

[shell python]

woah that’s cool, mustve sucked when you were running late in the mornings tho

[vagrant moat]

But yeah Tijuana sounds pretty dangerous

[river raven]

it is

but it isnt at the same time

I feel safer there than in LA

crazy

[vagrant moat]

Because people kinda like, know each other I guess?

Because they have to

[river raven]

I guess I just look like them, if you dont look like you're from there they can jump you

[vagrant moat]

Yeah that makes sense

[river raven]

i also speak the language

[river raven]

yeah I remember my dad would yank me out of the bed at 7am and put me in the car in my blanket. My mom would change me after crossing.

it was preschool and they had uniforms

remember it vividly

[vagrant moat]

Mexico seems like a lovely place that happens to have been through hell

[shell python]

prehistoric lakes are so cool

[shell python]

fair

[vagrant moat]

Lake Bonneville moment

[river raven]

I love the place Im from