Posted on 03/19/2018 6:49:02 PM PDT by BenLurkin
SpaceX has been given initial approval...to acquire and develop a massive vacant lot into a facility capable of manufacturing the first BFR prototypes and refurbishing the company’s reusable Falcon 9 boosters....
A request summary completed on March 6 details SpaceX’s proposal, laying out a bright future of rocket manufacturing for the abandoned 18-acre lot at Berth 240, one that might soon support “composite curing, cleaning, painting, and assembly [of commercial transportation vessels]” that “would need to be transported by water due to their size.”
This description meshes almost perfectly with past discussion of BFR manufacturing plans from SpaceX executives like Elon Musk and Gwynne Shotwell, both of which have in the recent past affirmed the need for any BFR manufacturing facility to be located adjacent to a large body of water due to the difficulty of transporting rocket hardware as large as BFR.
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While it is likely to take a fair amount of time to prepare the lot for the construction of a facility capable of manufacturing advanced composite rocket components, the wording in the Port documentation also suggests that SpaceX means to transfer its Falcon 9 recovery work to the new berth as soon as it’s available. Indeed, the comparatively massive space would give SpaceX far more room for recovery operations with the drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI), and could potentially become a one-stop-shop for booster recovery and refurbishment. As of now, boosters recovered on the West Coast are transported to the Hawthorne factory for all refurbishment work, operations that themselves already require brief road stoppages to accommodate the sheer size of Falcon 9. As of 2018, SpaceX is planning for BFR to be 50% taller and close to three times as wide as Falcon 9 (350 feet long and 30 feet in diameter).
(Excerpt) Read more at teslarati.com ...
Isn’t it considered inefficient to launch off the west coast?
Usually needed for polar orbits, secret military launches in a weird orbit, etc., ones that can’t be done from the Cape.
Sounds like they are going to ship them to Florida. Why didn’t they just find some place in Florida to build them?
I wouldn’t want a BFR I built to be exposed to a sea voyage from California to Florida.
Elon Musk will be glad to have this gig once Tesla goes 7
West coast is great for launching satellites into polar orbit due to the earth’s spin. Satellites launched into GEO are best to be launched as close to the equator to save on maneuvering fuel needed to correct the injection orbit’s initial inclination which will be based off of the latitude of the launch facility. Maybe Elon is going to go the Sea Launch route and ship his BFR down south an launch from there though it would require a flotilla of ships to provide landing support for the spent boosters.
The BFRs will likely be launched (and possibly manufactured) at Boca Chica, TX (south of Brownsville)
BFR? BIG F_____NG ROCKET?
Big F’ing Rocket?
It depends own the final orbit desired.
The west coast is preferred for polar orbits because the launch goes over water. This is mostly earth observation satellites, both DoD and commercial.
Canaveral is preferred for all other launches because they get a boost from the earth's rotational velocity.
I think the plan would be to load it on a ship and transport to a launch facility on the east coast. I don't know if the Panama canal is involved, but I bet it is.
Barge to Vandy and Panama Canal for KSC use. Just like was done with the External Tank for shuttle. We shipped some to Cali but obviously never launched from there. Picked them up and sent them to KSC eventually. Sound would have scared some sea gulls or something at Vandy. ;-)
Well they will formally call it Big Falcon Rocket, but the other name will last in the public mindset. Lol
“Sounds like they are going to ship them to Florida. Why didn’t they just find some place in Florida to build them? I wouldn’t want a BFR I built to be exposed to a sea voyage from California to Florida.
“
I wonder why they wouldn’t build it in a facility adjacent to the Cape?
Launch facility near South Padre Island close to the border?
Synthetics construction?
It's Musk's stated intent to scale up BFR production and reuse by setting up suborbital service, point to point from various spots on the Pacific rim. It's more efficient to launch toward the east, but that has an impact on total payload capacity, rather than making orbit impossible. And the mightly Elon says the BFR will be SSTO. Thanks BenLurkin.
That'll probably be the main launch site for BFR launches into orbit and beyond, but the size of the Hawthorne facility's big door was apparently a consideration when the latest spec was dreamed up. BFR launches from 39A might be preferred for romantic or historical considerations, but it doesn't look likely, at least not at first, and assuming the BFR ever flies.
the drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI)
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Sounds like a (Iain M Banks) Culture vessel name ...
I wonder why they wouldn’t build it in a facility adjacent to the Cape?
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Good question. SpaceX already builds their current rockets not far away in Hawthorne, CA. And there are more aerospace people in Southern CA than in FL. Plus they’ll be launching in more locations than Cape Canaveral.
Since a BFR is reusable, it will only have to transported by barge one time.
Thanks! Maybe they love those high taxes and higher employee salaries in California.
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