Daily Archives: April 4, 2022

(TNS) Elon Musk's answer to a question posed by The Brownsville Herald during Musk's Feb. 10 presentation at SpaceX's Starship development site at Boca Chica site, dubbed Starbase, has spawned a degree of anxiety among some local officials that the world's most successful private rocket company could slip away.

At issue is the Federal Aviation Administration's ongoing Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) of SpaceX's plans for launching its Super Heavy boosters. The company has been preparing for its first orbital launch of a combined Starship-Super Heavy, from Boca Chica, but first the FAA has to complete the PEA. The release date has been pushed back multiple times, most recently to April 29, the FAA announced recently. The original deadline was Dec. 31, 2021

The PEA could contain a Finding of No Significant Impact in the PEA and the FAA could grant SpaceX the necessary launch license, or the agency could require a much more comprehensive, lengthy Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the company's plans for Boca Chica. If that happens, no orbital launches will take place at Boca Chica/Starbase anytime soon.

"Now we do have the alternative of the Cape," he said. "We actually applied for environmental approval for launching from the Cape a few years ago and received it. So we are actually approved from an environmental standpoint to launch from (launch complex) 39A. I guess our worst-case scenario is that we would be delayed for six to eight months to build up the Cape launch tower and launch from there."

Those words likely caused heartburn among local leaders betting on SpaceX and the space-related companies it attracts to transform Brownsville into "New Space City" and the region into a hub for the fast-growing private space sector.

But U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, representing Texas 15th Congressional District, thinks everyone should relax, and not assume the FAA's delays indicate impending bad news.

"I wasn't alarmed of the delay," he said. "I wasn't alarmed because I didn't get a call from them. If they had been freaked out they would have called us right away SpaceX, their lobbyists. ... I mean, this is quite normal."

Gonzalez said he's gotten no hint that "everything is not on track," noting that SpaceX has a well organized army of lobbyists on Capitol Hill advocating for the company with various agencies and committees.

As for what a congressman can do to affect the outcome, not a lot, he said, though Gonzalez and U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela did send the FAA a letter months ago requesting that the PEA be expedited.

"They're all independent agencies, right? We can only be as helpful as we can, but we can talk to the administration about it and be as encouraging as possible," Gonzalez said.

Even if the first Starship orbital launch does end up blasting off from Florida SpaceX is building that launch tower at 39A just like the one at Boca Chica he doesn't think SpaceX will abandon South Texas.

"They're not just going to pick up and leave," Gonzalez said. "They're pretty entrenched. They've made some pretty heavy investments out there, and the federal government has too. ... They've got like $1.5 billion in federal investments in that project. This is not going to just disappear."

He described Starship development as a "monumental project" and said there are bound to be hiccups along the way.

"If there were delays he's not going to stop his operation," Gonzalez said. "He'll just do what he has to in Florida and do what he can in Texas until we get to that finish line. But at this point I'm quite optimistic that everything's going to work out."

Musk, in response to a follow-up question from The Brownsville Herald at the Feb. 10 presentation, indicated that Boca Chica is indeed part of the company's long-term plans, even if it's not necessarily as a spaceport with Starships coming and going.

"The future role of Starbase I think, it's well suited to be kind of like our advanced (research and development) location, so it's like where we would try out new designs and new versions of the rocket," he said. "And then I think probably ( Cape Canaveral) would be our sort of main operational launch site.

"And then over time I think there's going to be floating spaceports like ocean spaceports. We've got these two converted oil rigs that are going to be turned into orbital launch sites, and they can be moved around the world."

2022 The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Congressman Says Dont Worry About SpaceX Leaving Texas - Government Technology

SpaceX has had a variety of struggles and successes since its inception 20 years ago, but one of its most resounding victories has been the successful development and flights of its manned space capsule, the Crew Dragon. The Crew Dragon capsule line has already completed four successful manned missions and is currently in orbit on its fifth manned flight. While the capsules are reusable and will continue to see service in coming years, SpaceX has decided to end production of the capsule after the fourth vehicle's production, according to a report from Reuters.

The Crew Dragon's importance to NASA is hard to understate, as it is the only human-approved, low-earth-orbit-transport that the U.S. currently has access to launch from its own soil. For nearly a decade after the discontinuation of the Shuttle program, NASA's only option to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station were Russian Soyuz rockets launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is leased to Russia through 2050. As Russia's space agency Roscosmos increasingly joins the saber-rattling of the Russian government at large, having a domestic option to carry American astronauts back and forth to the ISS is not just a point of national pride, it's prudent.

And the Crew Dragon's results have been promising, too. Three of the four vehicles already have flown to the ISS, crew members on board, on the back of the company's own Falcon line of rockets. The decision to stop manufacturing more vehicles was seen as inevitable, but the specific fleet plans were unknown until yesterday when Reuters interviewed SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell.

"We are finishing our final (capsule), but we still are manufacturing components, because we'll be refurbishing," Shotwell said. She also added that the company would keep the ability to produce more Crew Dragon vehicles in the future if needed, but that SpaceX needs to ensure it can manage its fleet. NASA as of last year was still working on determining just how many times the Crew Dragon capsules could be used before they would need to be retired for safety reasons, and Shotwell has previously stated it is designed for "five to ten missions." NASA previously also announced that SpaceX's vehicles would be needed for more missions than initially planned, as Boeing's StarlinerSpaceX's main competitor, who also has a contract for crewed ISS missions with NASAhas been delayed due to development problems.

The Crew Dragon's successor, SpaceX's Starship, would theoretically replace the Crew Dragon with higher payloads and more reusability, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk saying it will allow humanity to become an interplanetary species due to its lifting power and potential range.

However, it has been plagued by regulatory environmental review issues regarding its Boca Chica, Texas launch site and repeated test failures, and has had its own timeline for launch moved back repeatedly. While the most recent launch of the SN15 test rocket was successful, it has yet to complete an orbital test, though one is planned for May of this year, per Musk. The lengthy NASA human-rated certification process will also likely take years to completethe parachute and abort system testing of Crew Dragon took roughly four years from its initial test phase to actually carrying astronauts to the ISS.

While the current Starship timeline projects that a crewed flyby of the Moon could potentially happen as early as next year, Musk has also said that Starship will be tested "hundreds of times" before flying with humans on board. Additionally, Musk has added on Twitter recently that Starship will likely be further delayed because of a reprioritization of SpaceX "to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming." All of this comes on top of the CEO's comments last year that the company could potentially face bankruptcy if the economy heads into rough waters and Starship does not become profitable rapidly enough.

With potential further Starship delays ahead and five of the 20 to 40 potential flights the current four-vehicle fleet of Crew Dragons are capable of already launched, NASA might need SpaceX's Dragon production capacity yet again in the future if the capsule's discontinuation impacts future ISS flights. After all, it's not looking like asking Russia for a ride again is looking any better by the day.

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SpaceX Ends Production of Crew Dragon, America's Only Human-Rated Spacecraft - The Drive

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says a busier Port of Brownsville could do a lot to unkink the supply chain.

Governor Abbott says for the past 17 years, Texas has been the number one exporting state in the nation, and the port of Brownsville has played a big role in that success.He would like it to be even busier.

"You see all these ships lined up for months, waiting to get into a California port when in reality they could deliver their goods a lot more quickly if they were able to ship them through the Panama Canal and come up through Texas ports" said Abbott.

He says the Brownsville port is also close to sources of energy, oil and gas, which can be transported to and from the port.

Abbott wants Texas and the rest of the nation, move towards energy independence."One thing that Europe is learning the hard way is what happens when you rely upon despots for your energy.To provide Americans and the world with reliable energy the federal government needs to unleash the oil and gas sector across the United States, increase LNG exports and accelerate the permitting process."

He also touched upon the Starship program, the world's first private spaceport which is launching from Cameron County. He calls Space X projects ``transformational." The governor says he will work hard to ensure the launches will continue from Boca Chica.

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Governor Abbott touts Port of Brownsville as solution to US supply chain issues - KRLD

(NAPSI)It may sound futuristic but there are people today living in homes created by a 3-D printerand you can too.

A. What is 3D Printing

3D printing started out as a way to make design prototypes for modeling. It has been used in healthcare, manufacturing and other industries. Now, the technology has spread and the cost of the printers has dropped.

Most people are familiar with 3D printing for its ability to create small things, but construction-grade, large- scale 3D printers is changing the housing industry helping builders create better houses, faster and at less cost.

B. 3Ds Advantages

Automation and increased productivity means 3D-printed house shells can be built on site with mobile and industrial-sized devices, up to nine times faster than with traditional methods while creating little to no waste of resources. That can save up to 30% of the cost. 3D also creates the opportunity for unique design such as curved walls (expensive if even possible with bricks and wood).

Whats more, 3D homes can be cus- tom-made and pre-designed for efficient installation of all the componentseven plumbing and electricity. Plus Api Cors advanced 3D print material allows printing very fine walls that are smooth to touch and can be painted right away. 3D printed building material is a durable concrete mortar thats 33% stronger than traditional concrete blocks. The walls are also reinforced to resist hurricanes and earthquakes.

C. How It Works

A standard pickup truck with a flat- bed trailer can haul the building system to a construction site. No cranes or big crew are needed to deploy and operate the printer. Instead, an operator uses a joystick to maneuver the equipment and print the building walls. Then a robot creates the desired shape of a build-ing directly on site, layer by layerthe same as is done with traditional plastic 3D printing but using a strong concrete mortar instead of plastic and a much bigger machine than a desktop box-sized printer.

D. See For Yourself

You can view a 3D house printer, touch examples of 3D printed walls, check out how plumbing and insulation are incorporated and watch the walls be painted at the worlds first showroom for 3D printed homes in Apis Cors home office in Melbourne, FL and online at http://www.apis-cor.com/showroom.

E. Building Your 3D Home, Career And Portfolio

The company pioneered 3D printing technology for construction, holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the worlds largest 3D printed building and has printed a residence in Missouri and a commercial building in Boca Chica, Texas. Api Cor is currently accepting reservations from individuals who want a 3D printed home.

Apis Cor also offers a comprehensive online course on house printing and a unique opportunity for investors to get involved in an emerging technology.

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The ABC's Of 3D House Printing - liherald.com