What smashed $15 million worth of concrete to smithereens? #spacex #rocket

Have you kept track of the aftermath from Spacex’s failed launch of Starship last April?

The rocket didn’t reach space and had to be destroyed – not unusual in early test flights. But…

Starship prototype

The system designed to destroy the rocket in the event of an emergency didn’t behave the way the company expected, either. [40-second delay between the system’s activation and the destruction of the vehicle.] The launch pad itself, tested for the first time by 33 powerful rocket engines firing at once, dissolved, pelting the area surrounding the pad with chunks of rock. Sand was hurled into the air and rained down on communities six miles away from the launch site. Quartz

The regulatory finding of “no significant impact” to the environment seems to have missed a few things. The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding corrective measures before issuing another launch permit – as it should. I’m as big a fan of space launches as anyone, but I live on planet Earth, and I’m a big fan of the ground too.

Thanks to Quartz for their update, and the story behind the Texas launch site too. Turns out, there may be some reasons for those pesky regulations.