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i was at south padre island for the first starship landing. even though it blew up a minute or two after it landed, i consider it the first landing. i had seen
by 00F_ 3y ago
i was at south padre island for the first starship landing. even though it blew up a minute or two after it landed, i consider it the first landing. i had seen pretty much every major launch from spacex on their livestreams but i was still taken aback at seeing starship. its as odd as watching a skyscraper slowly levitate upward into the sky. and to see it standing after the dust settled was unreal. and after it was over people shuffled away and even i was halfway to my car when we heard the explosion. i thought it was a sonic boom or something and only later realized it had blown up because by that time the landing pad was well out of sight. i got a crazy sunburn.
im not sure if im even going to attempt to see the next launch in person because i think it will be absolutely thronged. finding a hotel room, parking, even a good spot in the grass come launch time. its going to be a fucking mad house. if some people here want to split a hotel room then i might consider it. hotels can really add up because they can scrub or cancel or whatever and youre just stuck there. i think there were a couple scrubs on my last go too. my advice to anyone who goes: bring sunscreen and a really good pair of binoculars and a tripod for the binoculars.
- deepsun 3y agoThank you, such a nice inspirational and personal writeup! Keep it up!
- chasd00 3y agoI wonder if you could head over to Matamoros and give a fisherman $50 to take you out on the water. The launch tower is maybe 500yds from the beach.
- myself248 3y ago"Wayward boat" is the term for when someone does this and they're forced to scrub the launch as a result. Please don't.
- philwelch 3y agoProbably a bad idea. Rocket launches tend to have exclusion zones for sea traffic and they will scrub the launch if some boat wanders into the area, and speaking as someone who likes to watch rocket launches on stream, I’m confident in saying that lots of people will be mad at you for doing this. Edit: Oh, you said Matamoros, which is in Mexico and presumably out of the FAA's jurisdiction. Everyday Astronaut seems to think Matamoros is one of the more dangerous parts of Mexico[1] but I'm not one to talk anyone out of adventure travel. Just be wise to what you're getting yourself into.[2] [1] https://everydayastronaut.com/how-to-visit-starbase https://everydayastronaut.com/how-to-visit-starbase [2] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mexican-cartel-says-sorry-attack-americans-serves-up-five-suspects-2023-03-09/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mexican-cartel-says-sorry-a...
- cozzyd 3y ago[flagged]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- mlindner 3y agoThat area is restricted during launch. If you head out there you'd end up canceling/delaying the launch. https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1647001557211160579 https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/16470015572111605...
- stetrain 3y agoThere is a marine exclusion zone: https://twitter.com/VisitBocaChica/status/1646938322189557760?t=QoeoD1kh7gtJsYUb6v0dog&s=19 https://twitter.com/VisitBocaChica/status/164693832218955776...
- rektide 3y agoLooks like you can get like half a mile north or south (based off some crude eyeballing) & be out of the easterly-directed exclusion zone. I have no clue how that compares to where people can be on land to watch, how far up rt 4 people are allowed. It seems like it might be a good option. Also the launch should pivot & head out more your-a-way too, which could be cool.
- stetrain 3y agohttps://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1647001557211160579/photo/1 https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/16470015572111605... The green areas are the closest you can get by boat. Which is basically just as close as viewing from South Padre Island. You might have a slightly less obstructed or crowded view from a boat versus parking and standing with everyone else on South Padre.
- rektide 3y agoI'm surprised how greatly this differs from the marine exclusion zone that Boca Chica posted.
- AdamJacobMuller 3y agoThis reads a lot more optional than a NOTAM. I'm not saying it's a good idea, but, i think if you're sufficiently motivated you can still go inside the exclusion zone.
- stetrain 3y agoBoats in the exclusion zone can and have caused launches to scrub. I can't speak as to whether you will face legal consequences, but there may not be a launch to watch if you violate the safety perimeter.
- throwawayapples 3y agoMatamoros is INSANELY dangerous. It is impossible to overstate that.
- rurban 3y agoBut the best (only) surf in Texas
- throwawayapples 3y agoMatamoros is.. not in Texas? The Texas side of the border is way safer than Matamoros.
- s1artibartfast 3y agoI had a similar thought about watching it crash down into the Pacific off of Hawaii. If it makes it that far, they plan to sink it in a naval graveyard about 50 miles north of the island. Watching it attempt to soft landing and then sink below the waves would be remarkable
- eco 3y agoThis second stage is going to slam into the water at terminal velocity (per FAA filing). No mock landing flip and burn. The two after will break up on re-entry (no "wings", people suspect they are for payload or propellant transfer tests). The booster, however, will do a mock landing over the water a ways out from the launch facilities (40 miles I think it was).
- martyvis 3y agoI imagine because of ITAR etc they particularly want to have very little to be able to recovered by foreign parties.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoMy email's in my profile, I'm trying to figure out how to get down there. Looks like the flight and renting a car is going to cost more than the hotel room...
- eco 3y agoTim Dodd just released an excellent guide on how to visit Starbase. https://youtu.be/aWvHrih-Juk https://youtu.be/aWvHrih-Juk
- MichaelZuo 3y agoThanks for the link.
- HopenHeyHi 3y agoDrive don't fly. Rent van or large jeep. Sleep in it.
- downvotetruth 3y agoOnly under 400 mi after that it is cheaper to fly & rent. Current gas prices it's probably 350.
- HopenHeyHi 3y agoInflatable mattresses are available at Walmart for like $10 :)
- rnk 3y agoolder model s came with free lifetime supercharging. I have mine. I'm tempted to go. S Padre Island isn't going to let you sleep on it in your car, I would guess. Are there campgrounds nearby? Only 2 70kwh superchargers on the island. I will watch that video.
- HopenHeyHi 3y agoGet/make some magnetic window covers. I couldn't find any when I drove cross country spontaneously so I just got a bunch of the cheapest black pillow cases and some binder clips. Park literally anywhere not obvious, it is only one night. I am not sure how charged up you need to be to maintain a comfortable temperature. 5%? Just go and problem solve on the road. You'll be fine.
- 00F_ 3y agoim sharing a room with another HN user. 3 ways would be even cheaper.
- rnk 3y agoso what did you do after the 3 day delay? I ended up not going all the way there from the west coast. I need a one week delay, then I could torture myself with considering it.
- 00F_ 3y agoive made a reservation with another user. show up at the lighthouse inn on south padre island the night of the 16th for a raging party and to save money on a room
- darknavi 3y agoNow this is what the internet is all about.
- MichaelZuo 3y agoI'm down to share a room, my email is in my profile.