4 ms·
Need to see the numbers before passing judgement. Dirt is cheap compared to concrete. Depending on how many cycles the concrete is expected to last it may be
by dsfyu404ed 3y ago
Need to see the numbers before passing judgement. Dirt is cheap compared to concrete. Depending on how many cycles the concrete is expected to last it may be cheaper both short and long term to just have "ablative dirt" and bulldoze around afterwards "reloading" the launcher. There's also other variables like how long it takes for the engines to stabilize and the launcher to release the rocket, weight of rocket, etc that would go into it.
- samwillis 3y agoThe issue is that that dirt and rocks flying around damages all the other expensive equipment at the launch site. There is going to be some very dead kit down there. They can't do that every time. But big dust clouds also upset people, and SpaceX can't afford to fall out with the locals.
- mschuster91 3y agoLocals? Don't they own 99% of Boca Chica by now?
- samwillis 3y agoSouth Padre, about 5 miles away has been covered with a layer of dust.
- fundad 3y agoIt's not just dust it's pollution and it's going to cause long-term health problems.
- DiggyJohnson 3y agoWhat? This is quite the claim to make so confidently.
- gridspy 3y agoMethane rocket exhaust is steam and CO2. Where did the "pollution" come from? Are you suggesting they buried polluted dirt in the launch pad to distribute later? It's just like construction dust. It's unpleasant and inconsiderate but it's not highly toxic or a pollutant.
- fundad 3y agoI mean the concrete dust that got airborne as it was being blown apart. It's airborne silica and is toxic which is why construction workers wear masks when producing it.
- philwelch 3y agoI was on South Padre Island watching the launch, and I was stuck in traffic on South Padre Island for almost an hour afterwards, and I did not observe this. It’s possible that some of the dust reached South Padre or Port Isabel, but neither seemed to be “covered” in it.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> dirt and rocks flying around damages all the other expensive equipment at the launch site It’s a test pad. The equipment HN’s armchair aerospace engineers are proposing be installed would have been that expensive equipment.
- causi 3y agoIt wasn't "ablative dirt". It was a massive reinforced concrete pad that was pulverized and blown to kingdom come.