Moon Mars and beyond: Elon Musk Starbase is a city spaceport.
Thursday, November 4, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
Key Highlights
- Musk intends to name the city Starbase, Texas after the SpaceX South Texas launch site in Boca Chica.
- Both components land vertically on the launch pad at the mission's conclusion.
- It took the business approximately 16 months of extra building to prepare the site for an orbital launch pad.
- Whether Musk's plans to build a community near the launch site are approved, Starbase is unquestionably on track to become one of the most significant launch locations on Earth.
- This is because the spacecraft that will return men to the Moon will launch from this location.
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Elon Musk has made no secret of his desire to established a colony on Mars, but his most recent endeavour is to found a city on Earth. Musk intends to name the city Starbase, Texas after the SpaceX South Texas launch site in Boca Chica. It would contain everyone who works at the launch site, anyone who want to go on the rocket, and anyone interested in witnessing the amazing power of a launch.
Eventually, Musk thinks, it will serve as a hub for passengers travelling to Mars, with each gigantic 'Starship' vehicle capable of delivering approximately 100 people to the Red Planet at a time. They will require the type of living area and infrastructure that only a town or city can supply as they prepare for their trip. Thus, transforming Boca Chica into the city of Starship, Texas, may be critical for Musk's vision of space travel to come to fruition.
Musk officially addressed the Cameron County administration in late February/early March 2021 to begin the process of building his metropolis. Musk was required to comply with all applicable statutes, and any application would eventually be reviewed against applicable laws, according to a press release from the County Judge's office.
SpaceX announced its desire to establish a launch site in Boca Chica Village, Florida, on the US Gulf Coast, in 2014, following an exhaustive environmental evaluation by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Unlike Musk, who launches his Falcon rockets from sites leased from NASA and the US government, the business owns the Boca Chica facility. It lies adjacent to the community of Boca Chica, and while the majority of people sold out to SpaceX and relocated, a few resisted. They must now temporarily vacate their homes anytime there is a launch — and there are numerous planned launches.
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Boca Chica is home to Musk's most audacious spacecraft, the Starship, and the massive rocket that will send it into space, the Super Heavy. It is unprecedented in scale and, when completed, will be the most powerful rocket ever launched.
"It's a truly audacious idea," says Dr Josh Baker of Leicester's National Space Centre. "It relates to how SpaceX got to where they are now; I believe they are not scared to experiment."
As a result, SpaceX has a leg up on the competition. Unlike the usual tiny crew capsules employed by space organisations, Starship is a next-generation design. With a height of 50 metres and a diameter of 9 metres, the majority of its internal area will be used for living quarters or modified to convey cargo. The 70-metre-tall Super Heavy rocket that will carry it to space will be propelled initially by 29 Raptor engines, which are also made in Texas by SpaceX.
Stacking Starship and Super Heavy together, they reach about 120 metres in height - nearly ten metres higher than NASA's Saturn V rockets that sent people to the Moon in the late 1960s/early 1970s. It will have nearly twice the thrust of NASA's Moon rocket. Unlike the Saturn V, which was a one-time use spaceship, Starship and Super Heavy are entirely reusable. Both components land vertically on the launch pad at the mission's conclusion.
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The launch site's development has been lightning rapid. Significant development began in earnest in 2016, and the site was completed in time for test launches in 2019. Such rapid advancement has become a signature of SpaceX, and Musk himself appears to be a motivated man.
"I believe he pushes his people extremely hard," says Josh Baker of the National Space Centre in Leicester. "He has a very strong work ethic and I believe he expects the same of his staff."
At Boca Chica, the first significant test flight took place in December 2020, when a Starship was launched into the air to evaluate the vertical landing technology. While it came dangerously close to success, it burst upon contact with the pad. Four additional test flights were required until a Starship successfully landed down on 5 May 2021. If the prior tests demonstrated anything, it was the launch site's resistance to explosive catastrophes.
SpaceX began referring to the Boca Chica location as Starbase in March and is currently preparing to launch the Starship and Super Heavy combination on their first orbital test flight.
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It took the business approximately 16 months of extra building to prepare the site for an orbital launch pad. This includes a ‘launch table’ for the Super Heavy to sit on, a launch tower that will lift the Starship onto the Super Heavy and hold the giant rocket in place before ignition, and a ‘tank farm’ containing fuel and other liquids that will be pumped to the rocket before launch. The tower has also been adorned with a pair of enormous 'arms.' Known as Mechazilla, they will literally grasp and stabilise the returning Super Heavy rocket as it returns to the pad for a smooth landing.
Whether Musk's plans to build a community near the launch site are approved, Starbase is unquestionably on track to become one of the most significant launch locations on Earth. This is because the spacecraft that will return men to the Moon will launch from this location.
NASA has chosen Starship as the lunar lander for its Artemis programme. Although the astronauts will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Orion crew capsule they will be in will not be equipped to land on the lunar surface. Instead, an uncrewed Starship will be launched in advance from Boca Chico and placed into a parking orbit around the Moon. It will await the arrival of the Orion capsule, dock with it, and allow the astronauts to transfer over. Then they will pilot the Starship down to the Moon’s surface and back again when the mission is done.
It will form a dress rehearsal of sorts for Musk’s eventual aim of Martian exploration. And even thought it still sounds like science fiction, Baker thinks we should not underestimate Musk’s ambition to reach the Red Planet.
“We’ve seen that Elon can get things done. He has the drive to do it. I think there is a good chance that he will,” says Baker, before adding, “Or it will ruin him. And that’ll be the end of it.”
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