Author Topic: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 9 (Read 850663 times)

Chris Bergin · « **on:** 12/19/2018 12:04 am »

Thread 9 for SpaceX's development of a Boca Chica launch site.

Previous threads.

Thread 1 COVERAGE
Thread 2 COVERAGE
Thread 3 COVERAGE
Thread 4 COVERAGE
Thread 5 COVERAGE
Thread 6 COVERAGE
Thread 7 COVERAGE
Thread 8 COVERAGE

L2 SpaceX Facilities Coverage - now very ramped up on Boca Chica:
Master L2 Level All SpaceX Launch Facilities Section

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Nomadd · « **Reply #1 on:** 12/19/2018 01:43 am »

Ok. I'll take the bricks out of my handbag.
I'll be on a two week sabbatical starting tomorrow, but I bet anybody who can make it down there might get some interesting photos.

Kenp51d · « **Reply #2 on:** 12/19/2018 03:22 am »

Does anyone have a any knowledge of how strong the base the tower is on is? Would emagine a water tower base would be very strong. Would have had to excavate deeply for that.
But a water tower seems a reasonable bet.

Ken

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Lar · « **Reply #3 on:** 12/19/2018 03:38 am »

Quote from: Kenp51d on 12/19/2018 03:22 am

Does anyone have a any knowledge of how strong the base the tower is on is? Would emagine a water tower base would be very strong. Would have had to excavate deeply for that.
But a water tower seems a reasonable bet.

Conventional wisdom is that you can't excavate deeply. Not without cofferdams, as the water table is right there... (that's why they were surcharging the land down by the pad). You can drive pilings tho.

I don't recall a lot of pilings being driven in this area in recent spy shots but could be misremembering.

However, upthread people are alluding to being able to build tall structures if you give them a wide and heavy enough pad. This is similar to how palm trees stay upright, they have very shallow roots but they fan out to a wide area.

Quote

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docmordrid · « **Reply #4 on:** 12/19/2018 03:42 am »

Quote from: Kenp51d on 12/19/2018 03:22 am

Does anyone have a any knowledge of how strong the base the tower is on is?
>

Basic foundation plan for a Caldwell CET 30 foot tower w/50' tank

http://www.caldwellwatertanks.com/downloads/cet/CET-F2.pdf

Other PDF's

http://www.caldwellwatertanks.com/water-tank-specs-drawings.html

mlindner · « **Reply #5 on:** 12/19/2018 03:56 am »

One additional idea for the water tower/water tank. They're going to need a massive amount of concrete there for the pad. It would make sense for them to build a concrete production/mixing facility on site which would need a water tank to store the water needed for making concrete.

Lar · « **Reply #6 on:** 12/19/2018 04:31 am »

Quote from: mlindner on 12/19/2018 03:56 am

One additional idea for the water tower/water tank. They're going to need a massive amount of concrete there for the pad. It would make sense for them to build a concrete production/mixing facility on site which would need a water tank to store the water needed for making concrete.

That fits the whole "build the utilities first" approach. The water tank can have other uses later.

Nomadd · « **Reply #7 on:** 12/19/2018 04:48 am »

Fifteen minutes till midnight, and they have 4 cherry pickers working on that tank. It seems like a lot of trouble for a water tower they won't need for a year.

Quote from: mlindner on 12/19/2018 03:56 am

One additional idea for the water tower/water tank. They're going to need a massive amount of concrete there for the pad. It would make sense for them to build a concrete production/mixing facility on site which would need a water tank to store the water needed for making concrete.

Good possibility. I never did think hauling all that concrete by truck from 25 miles away was the best idea.

Cinder · « **Reply #8 on:** 12/19/2018 06:06 am »

Is the crudeness of the welding and general look of it not enough to rule it out as a BFS hopper prototype?

RotoSequence · « **Reply #9 on:** 12/19/2018 06:09 am »

Quote from: Cinder on 12/19/2018 06:06 am

Is the crudeness of the welding and general look of it not enough to rule it out as a BFS hopper prototype?

Site plans that call for a water tower do more to discredit that idea than most anything else.

Lar · « **Reply #10 on:** 12/19/2018 02:19 pm »

Quote from: RotoSequence on 12/19/2018 06:09 am

Site plans that call for a water tower ...

That's just crazy talk.

I think what was sketched out, that this will be a distribution point to other tanks, not the only tank on site, makes a lot of sense. Would we expect them to eventually have provisions for water tankers to unload (for oil tank cars there often is a platform with some drain hoses kept orderly so they don't get dirty, contaminated, or crushed) at this location?

Nomadd · « **Reply #11 on:** 12/19/2018 02:34 pm »

Everybody keeps assuming a high water table here, but it's not the case in the dry areas. They didn't hit water with the 50 foot STARGATE pilings. They've gone 120 feet on South Padre without hitting water. It's only a problem in the wet areas like the pad.

bocachicagal · « **Reply #12 on:** 12/19/2018 03:26 pm »

A pic of what's going on this morning at the water tower.

Lar · « **Reply #13 on:** 12/19/2018 03:45 pm »

Quote from: Nomadd on 12/19/2018 02:34 pm

Everybody keeps assuming a high water table here, but it's not the case in the dry areas. They didn't hit water with the 50 foot STARGATE pilings. They've gone 120 feet on South Padre without hitting water. It's only a problem in the wet areas like the pad.

Really! So the water table is 50 or 100 feet below sea level even though the sea is less than 1000 or 2000 feet away? That's amazing. (not disbelieving you just amazed) Is the soil that impermeable? I thought it was pretty sandy.

llanitedave · « **Reply #14 on:** 12/19/2018 04:02 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 12/19/2018 03:45 pm

Quote from: Nomadd on 12/19/2018 02:34 pm
Everybody keeps assuming a high water table here, but it's not the case in the dry areas. They didn't hit water with the 50 foot STARGATE pilings. They've gone 120 feet on South Padre without hitting water. It's only a problem in the wet areas like the pad.
Really! So the water table is 50 or 100 feet below sea level even though the sea is less than 1000 or 2000 feet away? That's amazing. (not disbelieving you just amazed) Is the soil that impermeable? I thought it was pretty sandy.

It's not just a coastal estuary, it's also a Rio Grande River flood plain and deltaic sequence. There should be irregularly alternating lenses of permeable sand and impermeable clay.

docmordrid · « **Reply #15 on:** 12/19/2018 06:09 pm »

Quote from: Lar on 12/19/2018 03:45 pm

>
Really! So the water table is 50 or 100 feet below sea level even though the sea is less than 1000 or 2000 feet away? That's amazing. >

The family vacation home is on a 60 foot cliff overlooking Lake Huron. Had to drill the well to 250 feet, 150+ feet below lake level.

Nomadd · « **Reply #16 on:** 12/19/2018 09:50 pm »

Quote from: llanitedave on 12/19/2018 04:02 pm

Quote from: Lar on 12/19/2018 03:45 pm
Quote from: Nomadd on 12/19/2018 02:34 pm
Everybody keeps assuming a high water table here, but it's not the case in the dry areas. They didn't hit water with the 50 foot STARGATE pilings. They've gone 120 feet on South Padre without hitting water. It's only a problem in the wet areas like the pad.
Really! So the water table is 50 or 100 feet below sea level even though the sea is less than 1000 or 2000 feet away? That's amazing. (not disbelieving you just amazed) Is the soil that impermeable? I thought it was pretty sandy.

It's not just a coastal estuary, it's also a Rio Grande River flood plain and deltaic sequence. There should be irregularly alternating lenses of permeable sand and impermeable clay.

Even going a few feet deep you hit clay layers alternating with sand. The clay is rockbar and garden hose an inch at a time hard.

SPITexas · « **Reply #17 on:** 12/20/2018 05:38 am »

I’m gonna be honest once Elon releases those rendered pics of the BFS hop tests happening at Boca Chica. just pictures not the real test launch that’s late 2019. In one week or two the new year, this thread will blow up.

bocachicagal · « **Reply #18 on:** 12/20/2018 05:24 pm »

On the other end of the sprung structure there are some shiny sections being put together.

Lars-J · « **Reply #19 on:** 12/20/2018 06:09 pm »

They're building not one but TWO starships?