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SpaceX Wins FAA Permission To Build a Spaceport In Texas

Posted by samzenpus on from the go-ahead-and-build dept.

Jason Koebler writes SpaceX just got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to build a 56.5-acre spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico on the Texas-Mexico border—a huge step toward actually making the spaceport a reality. Wednesday, the FAA, which handles all commercial space launch permitting in the United States, issued what's known as a "Record of Decision" that suggests the agency would allow the company to launch 10 Falcon 9 rockets and two Falcon Heavy rockets per year out of the spaceport, through at least 2025.

80 comments

  1. Horray by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Horray for Mars Crossing!
    Should be a good spot to start flying serious rockets.

    1. Re:Horray by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "horray"?

  2. Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico on the Texas-Mexico border...

    Rockets with Taco Bell sponsorships?

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    1. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by mysidia · · Score: 1

      Why didn't I think of that.... penal colony for illegal immigrants involving long term imprisonment and hard labor.

      Instead of returning them home, send them on a one-way trip to mars or the moon.

    2. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      It's nice you vomited the first thing you thought of onto the page, but you won't find anything even vaguely resembling Taco Bell in Mexico. Did you really think that? Sad.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    3. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by pslytely+psycho · · Score: 1

      Spaceport is in Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico.
      Solidly in the U.S.
      Lots of Taco Bells.

      --
      Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
    4. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rockets with Taco Bell sponsorships?

      Taco Bell? You mean that California based Pepsi owned fast food chain? We've got a few of them in Texas, but they don't have any Mexican food that I've ever seen. And their hottest "hot sauce" tastes like salt and vinegar with no heat at all.

      The space port is in Texas, because getting it as far south as possible reduces the delta-G you need as much as possible. This location is the most southern point in the continental US.

    5. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      Taco Smell is a Yum foods brand. Owned by the Japanese.

      Yum Foods brands are universally the worst in their class. Yum brands: Kentucky Fried Rat, Taco Hell, A&W, Booger King, Pizza Hut and Arby's. Nothing that can be fairly called 'food' served at any of them.

      I used to occasionally eat a taco bell taco. Didn't think it was good, but it was a childhood memory/comfort food in a weird way. Then I fed my dogs a couple of cans of Old Roy brand beef canned dog food and immediately headed for Taco Bell. When I got there I was hit in the face by the smell of Old Roy brand beef canned dog food. Haven't touched it sense.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    6. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Why didn't I think of that.... penal colony for illegal immigrants involving long term imprisonment and hard labor.

      Does a private prison company gaining sentience and posting on Slashdot count as AI, some kind of group mind or just a regular evil overlord?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    7. Re:Spaceport along the Gulf of Mexico by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to occasionally eat a taco bell taco. Didn't think it was good, but it was a childhood memory/comfort food in a weird way. Then I fed my dogs a couple of cans of Old Roy brand beef canned dog food and immediately headed for Taco Bell. When I got there I was hit in the face by the smell of Old Roy brand beef canned dog food. Haven't touched it sense.

      That reminded me of the time I learned decades ago that Jack in the Box was owned by Ralston Purina, Inc. -- the same makers of Purina Dog Chow.

      There has been some M&A's since (nestle), but it's still well connected. At the time, they used to proudly display their famed checkerboard square trademark within the franchise's name.

      The aspersion of the time was to call it: People Chow. Why else would you like chasing cars and urinating on tires.

  3. Say what? by djupedal · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Is this what that $2.3billion request for immigration is all about...we're going to shoot illegals into space rather than back to where ever they sneak in from?

    1. Re:Say what? by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Funny

      We are required by law to deport illegal aliens to their point of origin.

      Further information on this subject is classified.

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    2. Re:Say what? by krashnburn200 · · Score: 1

      Hilarious, and here my mod points just expired...

  4. better map link by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you can't read the scaled-down map reproduced from the report in the linked blog post, you can either look on p. 54 of the PDF, or else here's the site on OpenStreetMap. It appears it's not just that they're being given permission for the launches, but also that they're being given use of the land: the approved launch site is Texas state-owned land in Boca Chica State Park, which they'll be allowed to construct a facility on, and use for a certain number of days/year.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    1. Re:better map link by sycodon · · Score: 2

      Now it's just 5 years of environmental studies, lawsuits and billion dollar "mitigation" measures.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    2. Re:better map link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's Texas. They'll be breaking ground next month.

    3. Re:better map link by rmdingler · · Score: 1
      Oh fvck yes.

      Midland (Tx) is awaiting FAA Spaceport approval after shoveling some ED money and incentives at SpaceX...

      There will be no intentional delay. They're on it, doggone it.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    4. Re:better map link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really, that is what has just been completed. There is a long section on mitigation (i.e. enforcement of policy prohibiting speeding; signs to be put up).

      I don't know if it took five years. It seems more like two.

    5. Re:better map link by Loki_1929 · · Score: 1

      It's Texas, they broke ground three weeks ago.

      FAA? Never heard of 'em.

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  5. Yes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a perfect place to contact aliens.

  6. Why a new one? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

    Isn't there one near the Mexico border in NM that already exists?

    1. Re:Why a new one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      South Padre Island is much farther south than the Spaceport in NM, which gives a significant velocity boost and thus less fuel to get into orbit. It also means launching over ocean which has less liability concerns than launching over land (even if it's mostly open desert). I don't know of anyone who has any plans to use the Spaceport for orbital launches, just straight up & down sub-orbital flights and testing.

  7. I can see the movie now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Machete in Space!!

    1. Re:I can see the movie now... by rioki · · Score: 1

      Now THAT sounds like an awesome movie.

  8. turbo-skeet shooting Texas style by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    PULL!

    1. Re:turbo-skeet shooting Texas style by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another good thing is that they'll have an endless supply of very cheap labor!

  9. Hope their hull is bulletproof. by retech · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Took a job in Brownsville. Left Detroit. Flew down there. In the course of 6 months... The university campus was closed because of a cartel fight that saw bullets crossing the border and hitting classrooms. The daily headcount of dumped bodies (on either side) was greater than Detroit's. Crossed, over to go out to eat. The building across the street had two grenades lobbed into it while we ate. Mind you, this was less than .5 miles from Brownsville.

    The area that they want to build (actually have been building for a while now) is flooded during spring break with high school and university kids. It's cheap, beach, and poorly patrolled. If you work for them, you'll have to live in Brownsville and deal with the beach crap for 6 weeks a year.

    I really cannot think of a less desirable location to build this "space port".

    1. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by rmdingler · · Score: 1
      The Mexicans involved in the trafficking of illegal narcotics are very careful to tread lightly North of the Rio Grande.

      They can buy Mexico.

      Angering the gueros is bad for business.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by retech · · Score: 3, Informative

      Used to. The published numbers just do not show the reality. Between friends and family in B-ville and McAllen and knowing the number of shootings and car bombings they've witnessed, not one of them get's to the news. Hell, at my job down there, (worked for the state) we were told to NOT post any stuff on social media like: "OMG there was a shooting outside the mall today." One morning there was a shootout at the mall, 3 ppl hit. I thought surely this would make the news. Not a word of it anywhere.

    3. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by strack · · Score: 1

      Hey man, if you know of another place in the contiguous United States at the lowest possible latitude with only ocean in the direction you want to launch rockets, and no other launch sites to work your own launch schedule around, let us know.

    4. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Do you REALLY think they just drew the name Brownsville out of a hat? And then decided to locate there? WTF? You're talking about it like it's some kind of voluntary choice. Please tell me you're not that stupid.

      Look at a map of America. Brownsville is at the southern tip. Being as far south as possible as advantageous for putting satellites into orbit. Why do you think Cape Canaveral is located where it is?

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    5. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by Wizel603 · · Score: 1

      I really cannot think of a less desirable location to build this "space port".

      Mos Eisley

    6. Re: Hope their hull is bulletproof. by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      The Maldives. ;)

    7. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, you are complaining about having, for six weeks, young woman in the beach with almost no clothing, intoxicated and looking to have fun? Men.. your life is miserable.

      Oh, and if you think Detroit is safer than Brownsville, I have a bridge to sell to you.. (to the South Padre Island, to make the joke local)

    8. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If south was the important goal, why not Puerto Rico or Hawaii?

    9. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Another geek who never actually went to spring break and gets his information from movies.

      Spring break beaches typically have terrible ratios. Sausage fest of drunken frat boys, puking all over themselves.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    10. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      So you're saying I didn't really miss out on anything by not going South for spring break? Good to know.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    11. Re:Hope their hull is bulletproof. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Unless you like drinking till you puke all over yourself you didn't miss anything.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  10. Why only 12 rockets per year? by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    That seems completely arbitrary.

    1. Re:Why only 12 rockets per year? by rioki · · Score: 1

      Probably some haphazard environmental impact study. But once SpaceX has the foot in the door and a need to launch more, it probably can be arranged to higher limits. If they can lay pipelines through a Alaskan wildlife preserve, they can launch more rockets from a national park in Texas.

    2. Re:Why only 12 rockets per year? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "haphazard"? This word means "lacking any obvious principle of organization.". Um, you have any evidence for this?

    3. Re: Why only 12 rockets per year? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be new here. See, there's a certain kind of person who thinks that any attempt to protect the environment from things like toxic chemicals is inherently un-American. They believe that one should be able to do whatever with no regard to the costs imposed on others for cleanup, loss of use, diseases etc. (Not to mention the occasional extinction or two). Sadly, this particular malady is often accompanied by a belief that one's tax dollars should never benefit another, even though that's exactly what happens when one pushes off an environmental mess on others. Logic has never been a strong point with such folks I'm afraid.

    4. Re:Why only 12 rockets per year? by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      That seems completely arbitrary.

      It'll put a dampener on their July the 4th celebrations - oh sorry March 2nd - it's Texas.

    5. Re: Why only 12 rockets per year? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And there are others who use "environmentalism" to try to crush any human activity no mater how benign and/or beneficial it is. Oil pipelines & coal plants are one thing, but I've seen cases of wind farms & parks fought against for "environmental" reasons.

    6. Re:Why only 12 rockets per year? by rioki · · Score: 1

      They are building a spaceport in the middle of a national park! Either it is a nature preserve or it is not one. Although I don't count myself to the environmentalist camp, but I see the ideas behind national parks. But in many cases the environmental impact studies are educated guess at best. The 12 rockets limit seems fairly arbitrary and more along the lines of projected SpaceX use of the facility and less on the environmental impact tolerances.

  11. Mexico by BradMajors · · Score: 0

    Did they bother to get Mexico's permission to operate this spaceport so close to the Mexican border?

    1. Re:Mexico by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      Borders are binary and there are already treaties/conventions in place regarding airspace.

      For example, Spain would love to close Gebralter's airport. But the rules only let them be a huge pain in the ass.

      In other words, why should we?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    2. Re:Mexico by Issarlk · · Score: 1

      Why would the cartels disaprove anyway? They could even abduct a few engineers to develop their own rocket delivery of drugs into the USA.

  12. Re:Please no be racist!!!! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    People from Maine sure write funny.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  13. Re:Please no be racist!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It has nothing to do with race. How can you claim to love and want to join a country while you shit all over it's laws? Illegal aliens are criminals and should be treated as such, regardless of race. Want to come to the US? Do it the legal way.

  14. Re:Please no be racist!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I come to the /. every day be cause I want to learn technologys and computers and internets. But every day I see the racist here! I am from Bangalore ... yada yada yada ... [says the hardcore practicing racist doing the power grabbing "I'm not a racist" yammer]

    I agree. To start, this hypocritical talking the talk but not walking the walk from these self righteous indignant bigoted slave owning management families is getting real old. The U.S. needs to quit being enablers of India's power caste from being able to keep the overwhelming majority of their people entrench in abject poverty.

    For the uninformed naive, the Indian ruling class considers Americans members of the "Untouchable" class. Get rid of one sided dual citizenship or demanding immediate reciprocity. Create an investment by incentivizing a commitment in the everyone's society.

  15. This might start giving them ideas. by Chas · · Score: 1

    Burrito-fueled rockets to get illegals in across the border.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  16. huh... by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

    Seems kind of small. I would have expected a space port to be high hundreds to thousands of acres to buffer in case there was some disaster... not a measely 57 acres... A lot of high schoolers could run across it diagonally in about two minutes.

    But I don't know much about the requirements for spaceports.

    --
    while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    1. Re:huh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And more buffer space is even more important considering the number of the guns in Texas. They really should build it in a state where 50 caliber rifles are not legal. A single hit to a liquid fueled rocket would destroy it. Helicopters landing on the office building where I work in CA have been hit by guns several times, and this is in a state where most of the worst weapons are not allowed. Business really should move out of Texas to protect their employees.

    2. Re:huh... by Megane · · Score: 1

      Or you could look for it on a map and see that it's surrounded by mostly wildlife areas and state parks and water, not unlike a certain place in Florida. It's not like they're planning to launch from some industrial park on the edge of town.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    3. Re:huh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you are an idiot. that is all

  17. Name your spaceport by Trogre · · Score: 4, Funny

    I vote Mos Eisley.

    After all, where else would one find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, outside of Washington that is...

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  18. Re:Taco Bell Rockets.... by pslytely+psycho · · Score: 1

    Why not?

    Pizza Hut did it back in 2000.

    http://www.spacedaily.com/images/proton-pizza-bg.jpg

    --
    Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
  19. "space" port! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    oh the hubris! Does the rest of the Galaxy know about this? Are they ready?

    1. Re:"space" port! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      oh the hubris! Does the rest of the Galaxy know about this? Are they ready?

      They're boycotting it because it doesn't sign up to the Andromeda and District port worker's labor union.

  20. I heared you're opening a spaceport... by 2fuf · · Score: 1

    If you're looking for astronauts just let me know.
    I might consider it.

    1. Re:I heared you're opening a spaceport... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? A monkey could do it in the '60s and our automation is much better today.

    2. Re:I heared you're opening a spaceport... by Megane · · Score: 1

      NASA has plenty of already-trained astronauts who don't have much chance of going up, whether or not they've already gone up yet. They're getting hired by the NewSpace companies. It's not like they're looking for H1Bs to be astronauts.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    3. Re:I heared you're opening a spaceport... by 2fuf · · Score: 1

      here's an astronomical whooooosh for you, sir

  21. 2 Elon Musk posts in 1 day? by Gothmolly · · Score: 1

    Shall we declare a national holiday? Parades?

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:2 Elon Musk posts in 1 day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, we could always discuss the comparative advancements to human future done by their billions by Elon Musk and Steve Ballmer.

      One is shaking the very foundations of three key industries and another bought a bunch of sweaty guys bouncing a ball around...

  22. Only 56.5 acres? by RevWaldo · · Score: 1

    I'd think you'd want a lot more land for a spaceport. Sometimes rocket fall down, go boom.

    (For the more cosmopolitan of us, Washington Square Park is just under ten acres.)

    .

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
    1. Re:Only 56.5 acres? by Cid+Highwind · · Score: 1

      Only 56.5 acres on land, but 395 million acres downrange.

      --
      0 1 - just my two bits
    2. Re:Only 56.5 acres? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Thing is, the plan is to bring the first stage back in and land it on the launch pad. That makes the 395 million acres less relevant.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    3. Re:Only 56.5 acres? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Not the launch pad. If launching from Texas they will land the first stage somewhere in the neighborhood of Florida.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  23. About the Cape by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cape Canaveral was a disease ridden undeveloped swamp before the AF and NASA moved there. South was good, very cheap land was better, lobbying in Congress to bring the space program to Florida was really the driver.

    Realistically, the advantage of a few degrees of latitude isn't huge in the context of big rockets. You just get a bit less payload to orbit if you go farther north. A bigger issue is putting dangerous things like exploding rockets and fuels like Hydrazine, Fuming Nitric Acid, etc. far, far away from population centers, preferably with low land costs.

  24. Re:Please be racist!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You amuse me. Most Mexicans don't want to emigrate to America. They like living in their country. Now Guatemalans, Nicaraguans and Hondurans, they do want to but not for the reason you think. This isn't the 1850s and the great irish influx.
    These people don't want to: Learn english
    Learn our culture and give up theirs
    Give up their flag
    Embrace our ideas and our way of doing things.
    What they really want is their country to be as wealthy as ours and them to be on the same level as us. Since their country's leaders have no interest in bettering their cities or places and are willing to do things our way (capitalist, fuck over everyone for money way they we honestly run everything) they feel they are trapped. So they sell their soul to come here. Not in the hope of becoming American. But in the hope of bring their country here with them so they can keep everything and get access to what we have built. Then they sent all that money back to their family.
    That isn't immigration. Its what the Visigoths did to Rome. Only slower. All they want is our services. When we demand they learn our language, they have a fit. We we demand they follow our rules, they have a fit. So no its isn't racist. The most honest thing about life is you DON"T Get access to the nice things without working for them. If you were born on the otherside of the planet and you manage to come here to be here and Be American. Go for you. We no more don't want people overrunning us than you want want Muslims destroying Hindu holy sites or Atheists slathering pig grease on the floor of a mosque. Not everyone can have it for free when it a finite resource.