Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
Great show. i’m really enjoying it.
Little update about the Starship part at 39A that you guys actually got wrong.
if you follow the guys and gals over at NSF (Nasaspaceflight) they have all the video and picture footage that SpaceX is actually already building the launch tower, launch mount on 39A. The tower already partially completed in segments over on Roberts Road- which is also where they have the foundations already set up for the Cape versions of the various high bays and buildings they’ll use to build/assemble Starships. From all reports the 39a Starship launch infrastructure will actually be fully built by the end of this year- tho probably not be used until sometime in mid 2023 after whatever regulatory approval is needed + initial test flights out of Boca Chica.
here’s video they took (from the air) of the Cape SpaceX Nearly Ready to Roll Out Florida Starship Tower | Cape Update - Narrated - YouTube
It’s funny that within NASA there’s plenty that are excited to utilize Starship for many planetary science missions- but for something like Mars it’s almost entirely ignored for now. The ‘date’ of 2040 for boots on Mars - only a couple people for a short stay is laughable. Of course Boots on Mars before the end of the decade is also equally insanely difficult and kinda unlikely. Probably a happy medium in the early 2030s is the most likely- as a public/private partnership utilizing Starship, other rockets like New Glenn, other companies that might not even exist or really be known right now and of course NASA, possibly ESA.
It’s going to be very interesting to see the debates around the planetory protection as it completely contradicts the very idea of humans to Mars to say nothing of Starships landing (and probably initially crashing) on Mars which are impossible to ‘clean’…
Like that Elton John song goes “I think it’s going to be an long long time”. Since their still is unanswered questions.