- SpaceX appears to have acquired two oil platforms that could turn it into launching platforms for its upcoming Starship rocket system, reports NASASpaceflight.
- The floating “spacecraft” will contribute to SpaceX’s operations in Boca Chica, Texas, which are currently under review by the environment.
- The launch of rockets from the water should be less disruptive to residents in the area.
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You may know Deimos and Phobos as the names of Mars’ moons. But now these are also the newly christened names of two oil rigs off the Texas coast. These rigs are likely to be converted into launch pads for SpaceX Starship rockets, NASASpaceflight reported Tuesday.
In December 2020, Insider reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had moved from California to Texas, an increasingly common route for tech executives looking to save on government revenue.
Since then, Thomas Burghardt and Michael Baylor of NASASpaceflight have identified public records showing the sale of two oil rigs off the coast of Texas in August 2020 from the now bankrupt oil company Valaris. Both devices were sold for $ 3.5 million, according to Baylor’s records. Show.
NASASpaceflight has identified the buyer as Lone Star Mineral Development LLC, which shares executive Bret Johnson with SpaceX. The LLC was incorporated in June 2020. Although SpaceX has yet to confirm that it is involved in the purchase of the oil rigs, it will not come as a surprise.
The idea was further fueled by Baylor who identified Musk in June 2020, a week before the establishment of the LLC, in which the CEO alluded to the construction of ‘floating’ spacecraft platforms at sea.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 16 June 2020
Back on land, the SpaceX website in Boca Chica used to offer prototypes for the company. The first launch of the Starship prototype, which the company hopes will eventually lead to the first commercial spaceflight to Mars, took place in December 2020. The rocket exploded, reports Insider, but the company still considers the test successful.
SN9, a new version of the prototype, is likely to be launched this week, weather permitting. The proposed SN9 launch will be on the beach, not on the Phobos and Deimos rig.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it purchased the oil rig or any plans to do so.
Floating launch pads offer some clear advantages over launch sites on the land, such as reduced risk to residents in the area and less noise.
The future of these potential guidelines and the spatial operation of SpaceX in Texas remains an open question. In December 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a call for public input on the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica.
Musk said he hopes SpaceX will start sending passenger flights to Mars by 2026.