Christina HsuApr 21, 2023
Sascha Pallenberg 🇹🇼 ♻️ ⚡

It seems like #SpaceX launched the largest rocket ever without any of the usual precautions regarding blast effects and possible debris in case of any failure.

A city covered in dust, concrete debris as big as bowling balls and cars that got hit. What a mess!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/us/spacex-rocket-dust-texas.html

SpaceX’s Starship Kicked Up a Dust Cloud, Leaving Texans With a Mess

Residents of Port Isabel said that their city was covered in grime following SpaceX’s rocket launch on Thursday. The city said there was no “immediate concern for people’s health.”

The New York Times
Apr 21, 2023 at 5:46pmTusky
Show threadTyler 👋Apr 21, 2023
@pallenberg This article has a lot of good references in it about deluge systems and other methods that NASA and other aeronautics groups use for reducing damage. It looks like SpaceX just…didn’t use any of them. 😑
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_suppression_system
Sound suppression system - Wikipedia

Show threadSascha Pallenberg 🇹🇼 ♻️ ⚡Apr 21, 2023

@nextleveltye they just wanted this launch and, like with any other Musk venture, they don't care about the consequences.

It's this "let it burn" attitude that scares me and yes, I'm sure that this would have never happened with NASA.

Thank you for this link 🙏

Show threadTyler 👋Apr 28, 2023
@pallenberg You’re welcome!! Based on the reposts and likes, I’m glad so many others are finding the link useful.
Show threadMarcinW 🖥️🚀Apr 21, 2023
@pallenberg They are really above the law and regulations... I find it impossible to explain why they get so much leeway and noone seems to be able to stand up to the corporation.
Show threadC.Suthorn Apr 21, 2023
@pallenberg
Als Astronomen keine Sterne mehr sahen, weil lauter Satelliten mit Alufolienkruste das Licht aus ihren Teleskopen reflektierte, haben sie bei Elon angerufen und er hat sofort die SpaceX-Satelliten schwarz bemalen lassen. Als jemand zu Elon sagte, kauf doch Twitter hat er gleich Twitter gekauft. Offenbar haben die Texaner vergessen bei Elon anzurufen um zu sagen, sie wollen keinen Staub und Betonbrocken auf den Straßen. Elon hätte bestimmt — einen Vorhang aufgespannt?
Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 21, 2023

@pallenberg I am a NYTimes subscriber and I'm not a fan of Elon Musk, but this type of article is why it's difficult to support the Grey Lady.

This was an experiment designed to identify problems. Getting off the ground was estimated at 50%. Several of 33 engines didn't start so the rocket spewef fire close to the ground longer than expected, probably leading to debris.

Lots of more information not in the NYT article, happy to share what I know. A start is this article https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/so-what-was-that-was-starships-launch-a-failure-or-a-success/

So what was that? Was Starship’s launch a failure or a success?

SpaceX's development process is messier, but it's also much faster.

Ars Technica
Show threadAdam CookApr 21, 2023

@CubeThoughts @pallenberg There was absolutely zero justifiable reason not to have a flame trench and a water deluge system in place for a rocket of this size.

A flat slab of concrete under any rocket remotely close to this size will not work.

Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg @CodexArcanum @adamjcook
I'm just saying SpaceX wasn't freeballing here. A few points.
1 FAA did a multi-year inspection before their preliminary authorization last year, requiring many changes. They issued a specific approval for this launch after further checks. Air, land and sea was cleared for the test by FAA, Coast Guard etc. SpaceX has the gov approvals for this test campaign, it's not Musk experimenting unsupervised.
1/4
Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg @CodexArcanum @adamjcook
2 FAA:"no one was hurt and no public property was damaged." (as I understand, that van was inside the closed area under own risk) [1]
3 SpaceX did a static fire test in Feb, with 31 engines (same as the launch at start)[2]. The results were fed into this FAA approval.
4 There is a water deluge system [3]. Either they have to improve the launch pad, which was already planned, or they need to abort if lift-off isn't faster. Or both. 2/4
Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 22, 2023

@pallenberg @CodexArcanum @adamjcook
5 NASA's SLS also unexpectedly broke their launch pad a few months back.[1] But they are planning to launch once a year so they have time to rebuild. Also, NASA was happy with SpaceX test this week [4].
6 Launches of any rocket causes disturbances, like car alarms going off and windows rattling across a huge area [1]. Not a SpaceX exclusive.

3/4

Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 22, 2023

@pallenberg @CodexArcanum @adamjcook
If Eric Berger at Ars isn't expert enough(!), at least read the WaPo article [1], they add context and statements from sources instead of giving the readers the red meat they want.

It's hard making a thread here! Hope it helps with some more context not included in the NYT article..
Links 4/4
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/21/spacex-starship-launch-debris-shrapnel/
[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/09/business/spacex-static-fire-starship-super-heavy-scn/index.html
[3] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OsbnYp0FYKU
[4] https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/so-what-was-that-was-starships-launch-a-failure-or-a-success/

SpaceX didn’t want to blow up its launchpad. It may have done just that.

Videos shared on social media showed debris slamming into a van several hundred feet away and striking the nearby beach and the shoreline as if they were a war zone.

The Washington Post
Show threadAdam CookApr 22, 2023

@CubeThoughts @pallenberg @CodexArcanum As I noted elsewhere in this thread, ESG Hound on Twitter predicted this disaster prior to launch - and was rebuffed by SpaceX-friendly press (like Eric Berger).

If SLS required a flame trench, then this vehicle obviously requires one as well.

SpaceX was indeed freewheeling it here and the FAA and FWS was complicit in this wrongdoing with a sloppy, goal-seeking environmental assessment.

https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacexs-texas-rocket-is-going-to

SpaceX's Texas Rocket is Going To Cause A Lot More Damage Than Anyone Thinks

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a license for SpaceX to launch the first orbital test of Starship, the largest rocket in human history, as soon as this Monday, April 17th.

ESG Hound
Show threadCubeThoughtsApr 22, 2023
@adamjcook @pallenberg @CodexArcanum That was a good read, quite interesting. Strange of the author to claim no water deluge system when there's video of it being tested. However, we seem to agree that FAA and others provide oversight and SpaceX is working in compliance with their approvals. The author says FAA is bad, that may be true. But no human got hurt and no public property damaged. The security measures were sufficient. Changes will be made before new authorizations.
Show threadDarwin WoodkaApr 23, 2023
@CubeThoughts @pallenberg the rockets didn't start because they destroyed the launchpad and the debris got into the engines.
Show threadBig Jesus Trashcan☑️🏴Apr 21, 2023
@pallenberg The trash that fell into the Laguna Madre is unacceptable
Show threadAdam CookApr 21, 2023

@pallenberg ESG Hound on Twitter, who I believe is quoted in this article and was hand-waved away by #SpaceX-friendly press, warned of this prior to this launch for what it is worth.

I support what SpaceX is doing in general, but not with this kind of outsized negligence - a common feature in Musk's various enterprises.

SpaceX should be heavily sanctioned for this stunt.

https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacexs-texas-rocket-is-going-to

SpaceX's Texas Rocket is Going To Cause A Lot More Damage Than Anyone Thinks

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a license for SpaceX to launch the first orbital test of Starship, the largest rocket in human history, as soon as this Monday, April 17th.

ESG Hound
Show threadSascha Pallenberg 🇹🇼 ♻️ ⚡Apr 22, 2023
@adamjcook Just read his article yesterday. So accurate!
Show threadSueG In NJApr 21, 2023
@pallenberg Like everything else Elon does, apparently.
Show threadAethylredApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg I guess people live in the environment after all
Show threadBetwixt & BetweenApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg Alt text for picture on the post I’m replying to: 3 large brown clouds of smoke/dust rise from the bottom of the picture-1 to left, 1 to right and 1 in center rear. A silver bullet-shaped rocket is seen partially above and partially submerged in the dust. Pale blue sky is in the background.
Show threadSascha Pallenberg 🇹🇼 ♻️ ⚡Apr 22, 2023
@blbc thx... you are actually replying to an article
Show threadReggApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg that was real dumb thing to do. But not unexpected considering how dumb the owner of the company is
Show threadNotMaddie!Apr 22, 2023
@pallenberg Texas does love its freedom...
Show threadDeusApr 22, 2023
“How dare those peasants complain? This is for the good of humanity!”
Show threadAral BalkanApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg “Yeehaw!” as they say.
Show threadmsgbiApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg leftist cost @charles_ex @Ginger149 @aloa5
Show threadLen WhittenApr 22, 2023

@pallenberg

“The locals here are just being sacrificed,” she said.

“He just wanted to get this thing up in the air,” Ms. Almaguer said of Mr. Musk. “Everybody else sort of be damned.”

Just like Tesla: "Musk insisted that [self-driving vehicles] could be achieved solely with cameras tracking their surroundings. But many Tesla engineers questioned whether [he] was promising drivers too much about Autopilot’s capabilities."

Always with the shortcuts, 'cuz he's smarter than everyone else.

Show threadSilvertipGrizzApr 22, 2023
@pallenberg It’s starting to look like everything Elon touches gets screwed one way or another; send him the bill ………..
Show threadDarwin WoodkaApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg Musk spaceship go fuck yourself
Show threadJonApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg Meglomaniacs with too much money.
Show threadFrank WheelerApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg someone needs to tell Michio Kaku and others, that this is a fantasy and that it’s going to cause way more harm than good.
Show threadFight Fascism #RESISTApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg #EETD
Show threadtoxtethogradyApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg Texas deserves it. Maybe they'll learn that dealing with that unverified checkmark of a brat, Elon Musk, is not worth the risk...
Show threadmnemonicoverloadApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg @toxtethogrady The people effected by this aren't the ones making the decisions though and they don't give a fuck
Show threadtoxtethogradyApr 23, 2023
@mnemonicoverload @pallenberg This is traditional of almost every business enterprise and involves any and all business decisions. Consequently, there's a whole lot of environmental racism that occurs. The oil refiners all live in Highland Park and River Oaks, far away from Beaumont and Port Arthur...
Show threadmnemonicoverloadApr 23, 2023

@toxtethogrady
That's what I'm getting at though. The majority of the people of Texas don't deserve the repercussions of the decisions made by those in positions of power who will never have to live with the results themselves.

@pallenberg

Show threadAlexander RutholApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg
Yeah, but launching on 4/20 for teh lulz was more important to Elmo than launching when the rocket and site were ready.
Show threadStephen CerrutiApr 23, 2023
@pallenberg I think it's important to recognize scale here. As bad as this particular situation may appear to us, to evil geniuses like Musk it is nothing compared to unrestricted research in AI, gene editing or virology. It probably just doesn't register as any more bad than dropping a cell phone.