Comments on: Who’s the mystery Texas spaceport customer?

By: SpaceX moving ahead with Texas spaceport plan « NewSpace Journal

SpaceX moving ahead with Texas spaceport plan « NewSpace Journal — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:08:56 +0000

[…] summer there was a flurry of speculation about an unnamed company interested in a spaceport in south Texas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. That speculation later focused on SpaceX, which hinted it was […]

By: Armadillo’s upcoming STIG vehicles, suborbital (and orbital) plans « NewSpace Journal

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:54:50 +0000

[…] run.” He said they would be interested in launching from a coastal spaceport in Texas, like the one that been in some reports earlier this summer; “we’ve even talked about launching from the Gulf [of Mexico], if we can’t find a […]

By: Kendall

Kendall — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:00:28 +0000

The customer is almost certainly SpaceX after reading some recent news reports. They are looking for a commercial-only launch site not owned and operated by NASA or DOD.

By: Doug Mohney

Doug Mohney — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:19:55 +0000

SpaceX will “neither confirm nor deny” but the primary reason why a site off the Cape would make sense is that they can — as pointed out above — set their own launch dates without having to worry about everyone else’s calendar.

By: Jim Howard

Jim Howard — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:01:06 +0000

I have heard rumors that Paul Allen may be doing something in the New Space space.

By: ken anthony

ken anthony — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:03:50 +0000

For SpaceX it would not be a ‘backup’ site. Consider the number of launches they have on their manifest they will need more than just one additional site.

By: DocM

DocM — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:42:17 +0000

What if their plans there include building & testing large diameter stages there then loading them on barges for shiplent to KSC LC-39B?

Anything larger than F9 can’t really be shipped over the interstate highways as oversize loads are limited to 16 feet, then you have to deal with overhead clearance and F9 is close to maxing that already.

Bottom line is that the coastal production of large diameter is virtually a necessity. AIUI that’s’s why shuttle tanks were made at Michoud, LA.

By: Bob Carver

Bob Carver — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:36:39 +0000

Transportation of the rocket is another consideration for SpaceX. The Falcons undergo testing at MacGregor, TX, before being shipped to the launch site. South Texas is a lot closer than south Florida.

By: Gary C Hudson

Gary C Hudson — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:54:17 +0000

A correction: it is a patent *application*, not an issued patent. And Claim 1 is totally invalidated by prior art, for example Bob Truax’s proposal under the NRL SELARS program of the early 1990s to do recovery of his first stage on a barge.

By: WIREDRAGON: SPACE INDUSTRY NEWS LINKS

WIREDRAGON: SPACE INDUSTRY NEWS LINKS — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:36:40 +0000

[…] Dormant spaceport project comes back to life […]