Insane Launch Pad Upgrade at Starbase Boca Chica Will Shock You
SpaceX appears well on track to meet its deadline.
Some might question why an innovative company like SpaceX, capable of tackling complex challenges in the space industry, experienced such significant damage to its launch pad. However, it's crucial to remember that this was not the result of just another rocket launch. It was the Starship, the most powerful rocket to ever exist, that caused this damage.
The magnitude of this launch was extraordinary. The Starship's 33 first-stage Raptor engines generated an estimated 16.5 million pounds of thrust when firing at full capacity. To put this into perspective, NASA's Space Launch System or SLS megarocket, which previously held the title for the most powerful rocket to fly successfully, generates 8.8 million pounds of thrust. The difference in power becomes quite clear when considering the aftermath of each launch.
While the SLS launch left some damage at Pad 39B, the fallout from Starship's debut was far more significant, causing a crater beneath the orbital launch mount and widespread damage from flying debris. However, given the exceptional power of Starship, the scale of damage was not wholly unexpected.
In light of these extraordinary circumstances, we should perhaps not see this event as a failure, but rather as an incredible demonstration of what these new, super-powerful rockets are capable of. Even the fact that the launch pad withstood this massive force to the extent that it did is something of an engineering triumph.
Uniquely, the Starbase's orbital launch mount does not feature a flame trench - a common structure in most launch pads designed to deflect plume exhaust away from the pad during liftoff. SpaceX did consider the installation of a flame trench at Starbase but decided against it. Musk had even mentioned his aspiration for not having a flame diverter in Boca back in October 2020, acknowledging that this could be a potential mistake.
However, SpaceX and Musk continue to envision a future for Starbase that does not involve a flame trench. Despite the damage, Musk revealed on Twitter that SpaceX began constructing "a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount" three months ago. Although the plate wasn't ready in time for the debut Starship launch, the company proceeded, believing that the underlying concrete, a special heat-resistant type called Fondag, could withstand one liftoff.
This determination was based on data from Starship's first full-force "static fire" in February.
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