SpaceX breaks ground on first commercial spaceport in Texas

SpaceX founder Elon Musk and the Governor of Texas Rick Perry have officially broken the first ground for the rocketry firm's first commercial spaceport. The ceremony was held near Boca Chica Beach in the south of the state. Musk said the first rockets could blast off from the site by 2016. Once the port is up and running, …

[Martin Budden]

More exciting SpaceX news!

Literally ground-breaking, and also metaphorically ground-breaking.

[Martin Budden]

"dreaming bolder"

Oh how I cringed.

[WraithCadmus]

Re: "dreaming bolder"

"To boldly dream" or "To dream boldly"?

[Martin Budden]

Good place for it.

I just looked up the location on Google Maps and I have to say it looks ideal (for an American company). Almost as close to the equator as you can get while still being inside mainland USA, and with plenty of water to the east in case of mishaps.

[Andrew Newstead]

Re: Good place for it.

Don't know, it looks a bit tricky downrange over Florida, Cuba and the rest of the Carribian.

[WraithCadmus]

Re: Good place for it.

Are the Americans that bothered over the latter two of those?

Who fancies building the Kismayo Cosmodrome (Somalia)?

[CN Hill]

Re: Good place for it.

What's wrong with Mombasa?

[Martin Budden]

Re: Good place for it.

Have you been to Mombasa?!

More seriously though, you are right: the Kenyan coast would be great, except for being a long way from customers.

[Dr Scrum Master]

Re: Good place for it.

They're well clear of Tornado Alley down there. Only some hurricanes to worry about...

[Gene Cash]

Aw yeah.

Suck it, Spaceport Florida, KSC, and USAF Cape Canaveral. Now you see what your red tape has chased away. Everyone had the attitude of "There's nowhere else Musk can go" and "he's bluffing" and "we're the ONLY space port!"

I knew it was bad when the head of AsiaSat said *in* *public* how much it sucked to launch from KSC. (see http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/012/140906capecanaveral/)

[Ben Holmes]

Re: Aw yeah.

I can't help it. Every time I see 'KSC' my brain translates it as 'Kerbal Space Centre'.

[imanidiot]

Re: Aw yeah.

I think we'll be safe as long as SpaceX doesn't name its next generation of big engines the Mainsail.

(For those who are not addicted to Kerbal Space Program, the Mainsail is the biggest default engine. Lots of power, with a tendency to overheat and explode 2 seconds before MECO)

I think the Icon speaks for itself in this case. Its KSP afterall.

[imanidiot]

Re: Aw yeah.

Now I'm curious, why the downvote?

[Avatar of They]

Re: Aw yeah.

Nah, I read it as KFC and thought something very different.

[Tom 13]

Re: Aw yeah.

My brain flips it to KFC and I get hungry for fried chicken.

[Trigonoceps occipitalis]

Re: Aw yeah.

KFC - chicken ?

[Mark 85]

Re: Aw yeah.

I thought it was Kentucky Space Chicken. With my apologies to the Colonel.

[WonkoTheSane]

Virgin Galactic picked a better home base

Yes, I know this place is further south for extra free thrust, but VG's has the better name:-

"Mojave Spaceport" - (You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.)

[Britt]

OK, So it's in Texas...

So when do we get our space cowboys and wild west style frontier bases on Mars?

[WonkoTheSane]

Re: OK, So it's in Texas...

Try Isaac Asimov's "Lucky Starr, Space Ranger" series.

[i like crisps]

CONCRETE.....

Before anything can happen......CONCRETE!!!!!!!........thats why no Moon Landings!!!!!!

[Boris the Cockroach]

I suspect

its to get away from the US air force's eastern range control and tracking people.

Takes them 2 days just to re-position the tracking gear for the next launch.... which can be a bother when your allotted 2 day launch window gets borked by the weather and there's another rocket waiting.....

And Musk can launch when he wants in order to capture a couple of US and russian craft in orbit in order to provoke WW3

[Anonymous John]

Re: I suspect

It won't be needed much longer. Launch vehicles will trigger their own self destruct if the on-board GPS says it isn't where it should be. At least one launch has tested the concept successfully, while still relying on the current system.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: I suspect

Wasn't disrupting the rocket's tracking and so toppling them the plot in a different Bond film?

Are you sure Texas doesn't have any inactive volcanoes?

[Nunyabiznes]

Re: I suspect

"Are you sure Texas doesn't have any inactive volcanoes?"

A ways north and west in the Davis Mountains range. Bit of a commute at almost 1000km.

[Number6]

Re: I suspect

A matter of minutes for a rocket at full blast.

[Hud Dunlap]

Perry taking more of my money to give to a billionaire

I wonder which one of Perrys Agie brothers are reaping the windfall from this?

[Mark 85]

Re: Perry taking more of my money to give to a billionaire

Follow the money. Start by finding out who owns the land. Then who the main contractor is.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ice cream to Iced schiesse

Elon Musk was a hero of mine, but he has since proven himself to be yet another false idol. He is as more on the dole than Reagan's "Welfare Queens" ever dreamed of being.