|
Mechazilla
SpaceX Starbase—previously, SpaceX South Texas Launch Site and SpaceX private launch site—is an industrial complex and rocket launch facility that serves as the main testing and production location for Starship launch vehicles, as well as the headquarters of the American space technology company SpaceX. Located in Starbase, Texas, United States, and adjacent to South Padre Island, Texas, Starbase has been under near-continuous development since the late 2010s, and comprises a spaceport near the Gulf of Mexico, a production facility, and a test site along Texas State Highway 4. When initially conceptualized in the early 2010s, its stated purpose was "to provide SpaceX an exclusive launch site that would allow the company to accommodate its launch manifest and meet tight launch windows." The launch site was originally intended to support launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as well as "a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles". In early 2018, Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starship Flight Test 5
Starship flight test 5 was the fifth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on October 13, 2024. The test article (aerospace), prototype vehicles flown were the Starship Starship Ship 30, Ship 30 upper-stage and Super Heavy Super Heavy Booster 12, Booster 12. After launching and delivering the SpaceX Starship (spacecraft), Starship upper stage into a Sub-orbital spaceflight, suborbital trajectory heading toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, the SpaceX Super Heavy, Super Heavy booster turned around and fired its SpaceX Raptor, Raptor engines to Return to launch site, return to the launch site. As the booster approached the launch pad it slowed to a near Hover (behaviour), hover and did a horizontal slide maneuver to line itself up with two massive "chopstick" arms on the Service structure, launch tower, dubbed "Mechazilla." The arms then closed around the booster before the engines shut down. The rocket launched on the morning of 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SpaceX Starship
Starship is a two-stage fully reusable launch vehicle, reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. On 20 April 2023, with the Starship flight test 1, first Integrated Flight Test, Starship became the most massive and most powerful vehicle ever to fly. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. SpaceX aims to achieve this by Fully reusable orbital launch vehicle, reusing both rocket stages by catching them with the launch and integration tower, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, Mass production, mass-manufacturing the rockets and General-purpose technology, adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's SpaceX reusable launch system development program, reusable launch system development program and SpaceX Mars colonization program, plan to colonize Mars. Starship's two stages are the SpaceX Super Hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starbase, Texas
Starbase, formerly Boca Chica Village or Kopernik Shores, is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States, at the mouth of the Rio Grande. It was formed in the late 1960s, and is still extant as of 2025, although the village proper has changed greatly since 2018 as SpaceX came to purchase much of the land of the village. It lies east of the City of Brownsville on the Boca Chica peninsula, and forms part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas. It is situated on Texas State Highway 4, immediately south of the South Bay lagoon, and is located about north of the mouth of the Rio Grande. Although the name Kopernik Shores is no longer in popular use, it’s still used occasionally in official contexts per the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The population was 500 as of 2025. Numerous construction projects are underway including a community center, school, clinic, and additional housing. In 2014, the village was cho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suborbital
A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one orbital revolution, will not become an artificial satellite nor will it reach escape velocity. For example, the path of an object launched from Earth that reaches the Kármán line (about – above sea level), and then falls back to Earth, is considered a sub-orbital spaceflight. Some sub-orbital flights have been undertaken to test spacecraft and launch vehicles later intended for orbital spaceflight. Other vehicles are specifically designed only for sub-orbital flight; examples include crewed vehicles, such as the X-15 and SpaceShipTwo, and uncrewed ones, such as ICBMs and sounding rockets. Flights which attain sufficient velocity to go into low Earth orbit, and then de-orbit before completing their first full orbit, are not considered sub-orbital. Examples o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Kemp's ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys kempii)'', also called commonly the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, Kemp's ridley turtle, and Kemp's ridley, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. ''L. kempii'' is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world's most endangered species of sea turtle as well as the smallest. It is one of two living species in the genus '' Lepidochelys'' (the other one being ''L. olivacea'', the olive ridley sea turtle). The species ''L. kempii'' primarily occupies habitat around the Gulf of Mexico, though its migrations into the Atlantic Ocean are being affected by rising temperatures. Rising sea temperatures expand this species range, leaving them vulnerable to cold-shocking events when weather changes. Kemp's ridley sea turtle is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and conservation efforts are attempting to rebuild population numbers. Human activity, including habitat destruction, climate change, and oil spills, thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starhopper
Since April 2023, Starship has been launched times, with successes and failures. The vehicle Starship composes when combined with the Super Heavy booster, also named Starship, has been developed with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. SpaceX aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars. There are three versions of Starship: Block 1 (also known as Version 1 or V1), Block 2, and Block 3, the proposed variants include a depot, Starship HLS, and Starship Crew. Block 2 Starships are designed to be compatible with Block 1 and with future Block 2 boosters. As of May 2025, Block 1 vehicles have been retired, and three Block 2 vehicles have flown so far. The Starship spacecraft is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Test Article (aerospace)
A test article or pathfinder is a version of a spacecraft or related vehicle or equipment, built as a platform to perform testing on particular portions of a spaceflight regime. Test articles are built to the specifications necessary to replicate particular conditions and behaviors that are to be validated. Test articles may be built for flight testing or for non-flight testing. For space agencies with extensive flight certification procedures, they may be built without the certification and quality control steps taken with the versions intended for flight. Test articles are more complete than a boilerplate. Overview Some test articles are theoretically able to be modified and upgraded to flight-ready status. Of the 136 Space Shuttle external fuel tanks produced, one was retained as a test article. The contractor producing the tanks stated that that tank could be refurbished for flight use if necessary. Test articles are often displayed in museums because of their accurac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and businesspeople. The shovel used during the groundbreaking is often a special ceremonial shovel, sometimes colored gold, meant to be saved for subsequent display and may be engraved. In other groundbreaking ceremonies, a bulldozer is used instead of a shovel to mark the first day of construction. In some groundbreaking ceremonies, the shovel and the bulldozer mark the first day of construction. In other places, this ceremony can be replaced by a "laying of the first stone" event. Meaning When used as an adjective, the term ''groundbreaking'' may mean being or making something that has never been done, seen, or made before, "stylistically innovative works". History Groun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Government Of The United States
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: United States Congress, legislative, President of the United States, executive, and Federal judiciary of the United States, judicial. Powers of these three branches are defined and vested by the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution, which has been in continuous effect since May 4, 1789. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by Act of Congress, Acts of Congress, including the creation of United States federal executive departments, executive departments and courts subordinate to the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court. In the Federalism in the United States, federal division of power, the federal government shares sovereignty with each of the 50 states in their respective t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SpaceX Facilities
, SpaceX operates four launch facilities: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 4, Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Brownsville SpaceX Starbase, South Texas Launch Site (Starbase). Space Launch Complex 40 was damaged in the AMOS-6 accident in September 2016 and repair work was completed by December 2017. SpaceX believes that they can optimize their launch operations, and reduce launch costs, by dividing their launch missions amongst these four launch facilities: LC-39A for NASA launches, SLC-40 for United States Space Force national security launches, SLC-4E for polar orbit, polar launches, and South Texas Launch Site for commercial launches. COO Gwynne Shotwell stated in 2014 that "we are expanding in all of our locations" and "you will end up seeing a lot of SpaceX launch sites in order to meet the future demand that we anticipate." , Spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space News
''SpaceNews'' is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. ''SpaceNews'' provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives within the space industry. ''SpaceNews'' details topics in civil, military and space and the satellite communications business. ''SpaceNews'' covers important news in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America from NASA, the European Space Agency, and private spaceflight firms such as Arianespace, International Launch Services, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. The magazine regularly features profiles on relevant and important figures within the space industry. These profiles have featured numerous government leaders, corporate executives and other knowledgeable space experts, including NASA administrators Richard Truly, Daniel Goldin, Sean O’Keefe, Michael Griffin and Charles Boldin. Founded in 1989 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental impact assessment" is usually used when applied to actual projects by individuals or companies and the term "strategic environmental assessment" (SEA) applies to policies, plans and programmes most often proposed by organs of state. It is a tool of Environmental management system, environmental management forming a part of project approval and decision-making. Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of Administrative law, administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, and may be subject to judicial review. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision-makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. The I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
