this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2026
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SpaceX

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[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

TBH this is very cool.

It does put a lot of dense civilization downrange of the launch site, though. Thats... risky. Spaceports are often on eastern coasts for this reason.

[–] Jarvis2323@programming.dev 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I think most launches are expected to be polar, heading southwards

[–] llamacoffee@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Do you think Starship will ever be reliable enough to fly over populated areas? Maybe not over big cities but like airplanes maybe?

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I don't think any spacecraft is, not even the Soyuz rockets that were basically bulletproof for decades.

No matter how advanced it is, a rocket is basically a giant soda can filled with explosives. The mass fraction is just so different than an airplane, so it has to be treated accordingly.

[–] Jarvis2323@programming.dev 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The noise is likely what keeps them away from populated areas. Similar to the concord.

Reliably - I think they’ll fly often enough to get falcon 9 like reliability

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Ah, yeah, that's much better.

[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

The shipping lanes nearby are also pretty extensive. The NOTAMs will be pretty annoying. And there will definitely be scrubs from stray boats.

I'm not sure where else to put one of these, though. Spaceport Camden?

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Well, what's wrong with the current Texas location? That's about as good a spot for a launchpad as anywhere in the US, except maybe Cape Canaveral.

[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think fuel supply and room to expand are the big benefits of the Louisiana location.

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

But the houston area has big refineries too, right?

But yeah, I suppose space and nearby people are the issue with the Texas place, as is in the news all the time.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago

Musk doesn't care about people, so dont worry about that