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SpaceX Brownsville Texas spaceport (Groundbreaking)

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  • SpaceX Brownsville Texas spaceport (Groundbreaking)

    Their plans are taking shape. The US Fish & Wildlife Service report came back positive, so all that remains is the FAA's Environmental Impact Statement which is due next month.

    24 months to complete construction from GO, then Falcon 9 v1.1, F9R and Falcon Heavy will have a 3rd launch site.

    After this comes LC-39A, the old Saturn V and Shuttle pad at KSC. It will fly the above plus their in-development super-heavy launcher - greater lift than Saturn V, the Space Launch System, Energiya - you name it. The most powerful rocket ever.

    http://m.valleymorningstar.com/news/....html?mode=jqm

    Fed, state officials embrace SpaceX progress

    State and federal officials say they welcome recent developments that have advanced SpaceXs proposal to build the worlds first private, commercial vertical launch site and control center in Cameron County.

    The state stands ready to continue to support local officials in recruiting the SpaceX project to South Texas, Gov. Rick Perrys spokeswoman, Lucy Nashed, told the Valley Morning Star.

    The governor is a strong supporter of bringing commercial space travel to Texas, she said.

    We continue to wait for the Federal Aviation Administrations final environmental impact study, she said.
    >
    Consultations on the proposal involving U.S. Fish and Wildlife, SpaceX and the FAA began Oct. 10, 2012.
    >
    Construction plans also are included in the consultations, and reveal a 24-month timeframe for building both the launch site and the control center facilities a few miles inland. Most construction would occur from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and night construction would occur for about four weeks combined in order to pour concrete and place pilings.

    The planned launch area occupies 20 of the 56.5 acres leased by SpaceX. The acreage that SpaceX additionally owns would remain undeveloped.

    Facilities within the launch area include about 43,200 square feet of hangar space, launch pad, launch stand with flame duct, 250-foot-tall water tower, water retention basin, storage and handling areas, a workshop of about 10,800 square feet and 40 feet tall, a 3,200-square-foot office, a warehouse, roads, parking area, fencing, security gates and utilities.

    Parking for the launch and control areas would accommodate up to 250 personnel. The area also would include exterior lighting, security fences and gates.

    Potable water would either be delivered by truck to a holding tank at the vertical launch area, or pumped from a well on the property. The septic system would consist of a mobile above-ground processing unit and holding tank. Power and data lines also would be installed.

    Two six-foot-tall perimeter chain-link fences would be erected around the vertical launch area and would enclose about 20 acres, with an inner access road between the fences to support security.

    The plans show that the proposed control center area, two miles west of the vertical launch area, would include two launch control center buildings, payload processing facilities, a hanger, roads, parking areas, fencing and utilities.

    Control center buildings are planned to be single story, about 14,186 square feet, and 30 to 45 feet in height.

    Payload processing facilities will be about 14,669 square feet, and 65 to 85 feet tall.

    The launch vehicle hangar will be 30,774 square feet, and 50 to 65 feet tall.
    >
    It should be similar to their Vandenberg SLC-4E site

    Flame trench


    View from pad side (launch T/E is >210 fee tall) (big pic)


    Reverse angle
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    The SpaceX Brownsville / Boca Chica spaceport FINAL Environmental Impact Statement has been released but the link isn't live yet. FAA web page below.

    If positive SpaceX is likely to announce its new spaceports location soon, possibly during tomorrow's Dragon V2 unveiling (as if there's any doubt where they want to build it.)





    The Federal Aviation Administration has released the final environmental impact statement pertaining to SpaceX, which will help determine whether the company can build a rocket launch site in Cameron County.

    The FAA this afternoon released the much anticipated report that local, county and state officials have been waiting for, for almost a couple of years, however it is not yet available for download.

    Nearly two years since SpaceX announced that Texas is one of four sites under consideration for a commercial rocket launch pad, officials have courted the private commercial company, offering deals to lure it to set up shop on Boca Chica Beach. Texas reportedly has offered $15 million in incentives to lure SpaceX to South Texas.

    The EIS draft released in April 2013 reviewed 11 resource areas for potential environmental impacts created by the proposed construction and operations there. The FAA looked at compatible land use; properties; noise; visual resources and light emissions; historical, architectural, archaeological and cultural resources; air quality; water resources; biological resources including fish, wildlife and plants; hazardous materials; socioeconomics; natural resources; and secondary impacts.

    Although the FAA draft report found “no impacts would occur” that would result in the FAA denying a permit, it did provide a summary of potential environmental impacts from the proposed action by SpaceX.

    On the heels of the final report, SpaceX might announce its decision on whether to come to South Texas.

    Texas is one of four sites being considered by SpaceX. Other possible locations include Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico.

    The proposed Texas site is at the eastern end of State Highway 4, about three miles north of the Mexican border and about five miles south of Port Isabel and South Padre Island.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

    Comment


    • #3
      Here we go....

      Media are invited to attend SpaceX’s official groundbreaking ceremony for the world’s first private commercial orbital launch facility on Monday, September 22, 2014. The facility will be built near Boca Chica Beach, Texas and expected to be complete by 2016.

      Following the groundbreaking ceremony in Boca Chica, media are also welcome to attend a reception in Brownsville honoring local community officials from across South Texas, whose support has made the construction of the launch facility possible.

      WHAT: SpaceX Commercial Launch Facility Groundbreaking Ceremony & Reception

      WHO: SpaceX representatives and state and local officials.

      WHERE: Brownsville Event Center
      1 Event Center Boulevard
      Brownsville, Texas 78526

      WHEN: September 22, 2014
      This shows just the launch pad & integration area. A couple of miles West will have company provided housing for out of town staff, the Mission Control Complex, at least two vehicle and payload hangars, shops, a solar farm etc. and the new University of Texas at Brownsville STARGATE space tracking facility.

      Scale: the Falcon Heavy launcher shown is over 224 feet (68.28 meters) tall.



      Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 19 September 2014, 16:07.
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment


      • #4
        Things are prepping for the photo op.

        Dr. Mordrid
        ----------------------------
        An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

        I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

        Comment


        • #5
          @TyJohnson1
          "Musk, @SpaceX founder mentioned possibility of future Mars missions being launched from #Brownsville #rgv"
          Dr. Mordrid
          ----------------------------
          An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

          I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

          Comment

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