While pushing for Flight 12, SpaceX has received approval to nearly double the launch site’s size at Starbase. With this approval, SpaceX will be able to complete the redesign of Pad 1 and add additional capabilities to the Starbase launch site.
Pad 1 Redesign
Shortly after Flight 11, SpaceX began the long process of converting Pad 1 into the newer and more advanced pad design. Over the past couple of months, the orbital launch mount has been demolished, the water-cooled steel plate has been scrapped, the Pad 1 propellant pumps have been removed, and many other components have been scrapped.
As part of this conversion, SpaceX has recently been drilling Continuous Flight Auger Piles (CFA) for the new flame trench and is preparing to start sheet piles and deep soil mixing. This same process was used at Pad 2 in the early stages of flame trench construction.
The CFA piles stabilize and anchor the structure to the ground below, the sheet piles prevent soil from collapsing into the trench during excavation, and deep soil mixing forms a concrete slurry floor to prevent excess water from filling the trench.
CFA Piles being Drilled for Pad 1’s Flame Trench (Credit: Ceaser G for NSF)
Once these parts are complete, SpaceX will begin excavating the trench and installing tie-backs into the sheet piles to anchor them. Once dug out, the concrete floor can be set up and poured, and the steel walls can start to go in. Part of the trench is the cryogenic supply trench, which will house the propellant and high-pressure gas lines that will go to the service structure on the side of the main flame trench.
This addition required SpaceX to get permission to build on more land, as a small corner of it went into the salt flats. Well, just recently, SpaceX received approval from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and a few other agencies to build on this land.
Pad 1 Redesign Underway (Credit: Ceaser G for NSF)
Launch Site Expansion
This new expansion that SpaceX has gotten approval for will just about double the area of the Starbase launch site. With this extra room, SpaceX will be able to add in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) liquefaction plants to be able to turn natural gas into LNG for Starship. SpaceX will also have additional areas for ground support equipment storage and possibly more water storage.
At the very south of the expansion, SpaceX will likely move the entire methane tank farm away from the Liquid Nitrogen and Liquid Oxygen so as to keep the propellants separated. Currently, crews are preparing to remove several older methane tanks and install several new, larger horizontal tanks, which should bring their total capacity to two and a half launches’ worth of methane.
US Army Core of Engineers Launch Site Plan (Credit: USACE)
These new tanks are currently being installed where the old Pad 1 vertical tanks were located. However, as stated above, this is all likely to move once SpaceX is able to, as these tanks currently sit at one of the exits of the new Pad 1 flame trench once built.
This expansion will also allow crews to be able to add in what should be another set of subcoolers and pumps for Pad 1, which would just tap into the original tank supply lines. This will likely be located on the site plan, labeled “HEX + Tank Farm Expansion,” just south of the current Pad 2 pumps and subcoolers. With HEX standing for heat exchangers.
Below that expansion is planned as the new water deluge farm and the Isolation and Purging area; this is likely to be a near carbon copy of what SpaceX has built for Pad 2 and is building for LC-39A and SLC-37. It is unclear what the staging areas will be next to each pad. SpaceX may use these areas to park vehicles while the opposite pad is used.
With the addition of the new tank farm parts for Pad 1, SpaceX will need a new way to roll vehicles to the pad. To do this, there will be another exit on the roundabout, which will offer access with Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) to stage a booster or ship in Pad 1’s chopsticks for stacking.
Expansion Fill Requirements (Credit: USACE)
Crews have just started the initial groundwork: removing vegetation in the expansion area and flattening it with the existing sand. This is just step one of a long process, with extensive groundwork before any buildings or tanks can be placed.
The next step will be to bring in sand and graded fill to level and compact the ground before laying geotextile to help stabilize the soil. Next will be a road base, followed by a concrete slab with rebar. In addition to this work, CFA pile drills will place piles where needed, including areas where deluge tanks, cryogenic storage tanks, heavy buildings, and other structures require piles.
It will take time for SpaceX to complete the groundwork and the buildings that the crews want to build. Once all of the work is completed, the Starbase launch site is going to look very different from what it does today.
Featured Image: Starbase Launch Site with Expansion Outlined (Credit: Ceaser G for NSF)
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