Starship will attempt a launch this weekend

Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by holler on Monday November 13, 2023 @10:05PM (#38258514)

I watched the first launch from the southern tip of Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island and recommend that (I stood on the jetty). I also had recently watched 2 falcon launches in Florida and Starship is incredibly more powerful and awe-inspiring to witness.

Plan to get to the park entrance at least 30 mins early because it takes time to walk through to the southern end, and there will likely be a large crowd.

Stayed at Isla Grand Hotel and there were a bunch of other people hanging out the night before, have fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1snFbRby7Ew

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by gangstead on Monday November 13, 2023 @10:20PM (#38258644)

How loud is it from Isla Blanca? I'm bringing elementary aged kids. Should I bring headphones? Anything else I should bring?

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by holler on Monday November 13, 2023 @10:23PM (#38258670)

Very loud, bring ear protection! The crackling of the engines will make your entire body shake. Other than that just comfy clothes you can walk on the sand in. It's a real unique experience, you're in for a treat!

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by qwertox on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:00AM (#38259693)

> The crackling of the engines will make your entire body shake.

I've never heard it IRL but I absolutely love this sound, also from back then when the Space Shuttle launched. IDK why, but it is just such a perfect sound to me. As if it were the best indicator of the tremendous amount of power being released there.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by p1mrx on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:05AM (#38260376)

Scott Manley explaining the crackle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdCizNwLaHA

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by smhg on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @08:58AM (#38263339)

Making a video about a specific sound, talking through the whole (first?, hopefully) example.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by Rastonbury on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @02:03PM (#38267895)

The video showing the distortions from the shockwave off the jet are pretty amazing

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by jcims on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:10AM (#38260434)

There’s an entire portion of this that’s missing in the audio tracks from any launch I’ve watched on tv, YouTube, etc.

The deep bass notes go soo low and have this wild elastic ringing tonal quality to them. Like someone is playing a huge kit of koto drums or something. You can really start to hear acoustic dispersion effects as well.

https://youtu.be/KbmOcT5sX7I?si=aYfzx3CScYnQYiqK

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by jvm___ on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:43AM (#38260664)

The crackle of the air moving back and forth during a shuttle launch would be so fast and intense that the friction of the air (near the launch pad) would set the grass on fire.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by admash on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @04:10AM (#38260862)

That was such a delightful fact that I had to source it. Tragically, it is not true.

Gee, K. L., Mathews, L. T., Anderson, M. C., & Hart, G. W. (2022). Saturn-V sound levels: A letter to the Redditor. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 152(2), 1068-1073.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220831190741id_/https://asa.sc...

"While this peak level represents acoustic amplitudes that would propagate nonlinearly to rapidly form shocks and result in perception of jet “crackle” (e.g., see Gee et al., 2016), will it melt concrete or set grass or one’s hair on fire? It will definitely not."

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by mrchucklepants on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @10:32AM (#38264497)

The lead author of this paper is a friend of mine and an expert in non-linear acoustics, particularly jet and rocket noise.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by klazutin on Friday November 17, 2023 @02:07PM (#38308401)

I have generally been annoyed by the lengthy take off animations in Starfield, but the one thing I find satisfying every time I see one is that crackle of the engines. I can't think of any other game I played that would have this sound, so it immediately struck me as nice attention to detail.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by fy20 on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @09:21PM (#38272572)

When I was young I had relatives that lived near Heathrow airport in London. Whenever Concorde would take off, the windows in the whole house would end up shaking.

The total power output of Concorde was around half that of a 747, but for takeoff Concorde needed to use after burners - which I guess is the same mechanism at play here.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by philwelch on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:25AM (#38259835)

Maybe for the kids, but I didn’t use ear protection and I don’t remember noticing anyone around me who did. It’s not dangerously or uncomfortably loud from the park in my experience.

Bring binoculars. You don’t need them to see the rocket on the pad but it flies away pretty fast once it’s going, and they’re useful for watching propellant load and noticing other details. I also bring camping chairs, sunscreen, bug spray, and a bottle of water.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by euroderf on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @05:55AM (#38261686)

What's the advice to the public about not wondering off the beaten track ? I ask because there's special forces in the swamps, looking for troublemakers/saboteurs.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by philwelch on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:46PM (#38269487)

The island is across the water from the launch site, and SpaceX has its own fences and security for the facilities on their side. There’s also an employees only viewing area on the island. There’s also a protected wetlands but that’s unrelated.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by philwelch on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:14AM (#38259770)

Did you just walk into the park? 30 minutes before launch is cutting it really close if you want to drive in and park. If you’re doing that, try and be there by like 4-5 AM if you can.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by jccooper on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @09:56AM (#38264001)

You won't be able to park at the park anytime near the launch; it will be full. But you can just walk down the beach to the jetty from anywhere else on the island.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by philwelch on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:41PM (#38267560)

[delayed]

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by liotier on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @08:36AM (#38276446)

Bring a bicycle ?

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by holler on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @10:50AM (#38264758)

Yeah I walked in, honestly a split second decision not to go to Starbucks across the bridge in Port Isabell saved me. I veered to make a u-turn after deciding it would be too close and saw a parking spot right there. Walked from the bridge to southern tip and had minutes to spare until it launched.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by gardenhedge on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @02:13AM (#38260065)

What about air qualify in the surrounding area? Pm2.5 levels..

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by pantalaimon on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:09AM (#38260415)

It’s powered by methane, not coal

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by Faaak on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @04:47AM (#38261157)

methane combustion _does_ release PM2.5

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by bell-cot on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @06:04AM (#38261739)

If you are close enough to experience a PM2.5 spike from the actual exhaust, then you probably have far worse health issues.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by chmod600 on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:10PM (#38267083)

What particles? Why?

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by Faaak on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @01:53PM (#38267746)

basically soot, as combustion is rarely a perfect CO₂ + H₂O

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by tontonius on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @03:00AM (#38274361)

technically, methane is coal (with extra hydrogen)

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by yourusername on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:30AM (#38260569)

Is that really a concern? It may not be super healthy but it's not like you are going to a rocket launch every day. Airports are very unhealthy with the PM 0.1 levels but i haven't heard of anyone not flying because of that.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by gardenhedge on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @03:35AM (#38260604)

Air quality is something I've started paying attention to recently. I've flown a lot in the past but have never thought of it.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by mensetmanusman on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @05:25PM (#38270692)

A proper N95 solves it (unfortunately many that flooded the market post Covid are n95 ‘in name only’ and don’t have stable electret charged fibers).

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by bell-cot on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @06:00AM (#38261708)

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/south-padre-island/78597/a...

If it's a concern, I'd check again on Thursday & early Friday. At least around me, this summer, their multi-day forecasts were often pretty inaccurate.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by jccooper on Tuesday November 14, 2023 @09:58AM (#38264020)

I would be shocked if it were measurable. The launch is 5 miles away and the breeze blows inland.

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Re:Starship will attempt a launch this weekend by ceejayoz on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @08:43AM (#38276513)

The last launch sent some... larger than 2.5 micron bits up to 6.5 miles away.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-04-26/spacex-sta...

I suspect the new water deluge system will help a lot this time around, though.

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