Good point and probably correct, tankers can unload without ever dropping
anchor in a port.
But back at the ranch. It seems that being in Texas one of the richest, if
not the richest NG source, that NG can be supplied to meet SpaceX needs for
the foreseeable future even if it has to be trucked across Texas freeways
and roads.
I remember working at Edwards AFRL rubbing elbows with the old timers that
were there during the F-1 development days. My old supervisor at area 1-42
Larry Wilburn said there were long lines of LOx tankers going up the hill
to the big test stands to supplement LOx that the on site air
reduction facility couldn't keep up with the demand for round the clock
testing. 2 tons per second adds up quickly.
Ken
On Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 4:44 PM Doug Jones <rocketplumber@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Boca Chica is only getting FAA permits for five orbital launches per year.
The LNG will probably be delivered to a floating launch platform (Phobos or
Deimos) well offshore, with much simpler permitting and safety
requirements. Both Starships and Superheavies could be delivered to the
orbital launch platform(s) via a relatively short suborbital hop/checkout
flight. SH delivery flights might need fairings on the top, but those could
be just another nose, possibly carried back to Boca Chica via a barge.
On Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 6:22 PM Michael Kelly <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The Apollo program generated the huge demand for liquid hydrogen that
resulted in a gigantic production facility in Ontario, CA. It supplied
both Rocketdyne’s Santa Susanna test facility and the Cape, all via over
the road trucks. Liquid methane is easier to truck, and much easier to
ship via…well, ship. A port to receive methane ships at SpaceX’s facility
would be easy. But Elon has evidently been developing methane sources in
Texas himself.
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 11, 2021, at 5:20 PM, Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
the environmental assessment for SpaceX's Boca Chica launch site raised an
The next item down in Space News's "First Up" newsletter reports that
interesting question. They're going to need methane in large quantities,
both for the rockets and for a natural-gas powerplant that's part of the
site plans. How are they going to get it there? Apparently there's no
operational gas pipeline in the area, and the current paperwork is silent
on the matter.
Henry