Subject: Re: ?SpaceX unveils Starbase launch site in Louisiana, moves up orbital data center launch timeline?
On 8/25/2026 4:44 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
?SpaceX unveils Starbase launch site in Louisiana, moves up orbital data center launch timeline?
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/article/spacex-unveils- starbase-launch-site-in-louisiana-moves-up-orbital-data-center-launch- timeline-142539276.html
?Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said SpaceX will invest $100 billion to
build the facility, with construction starting in 2027 and the first Starship launches targeted for 2029. Musk added that Starbase will ?ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30
Starship flights per day.??
https://www.opportunitylouisiana.gov/news/spacex-launches-new-era-of- commercial-spaceflight-with-100-billion-louisiana-campus
This is getting real, very real.ÿ That is a very serious goal.
I am still waiting on the daily orbital flight announcements, 30 minutes from Houston to Tokyo.ÿ Free barf bags included for the 15 minutes of
free fall.
Lynn
"Perhaps someday, but even when it becomes possible to reliably land a Starship on minimally-improved terrain, the problem will always be how
to get it BACK. It will never be able to lift off without a launch tower
and a Super Heavy booster. And a million pounds of propellant. It?s too
heavy to be transported by air, and too big for rail. A dirigible,
perhaps, or an airship?"
?The vehicle?s tanks hold 1,500 t (3,300,000 lb) of propellant,[22]
consisting of 1,170 t (2,580,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 330 t (730,000
lb) of liquid methane.[d]?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship
I had not realized that there was that much fuel in the booster alone.
At $2/gal of LNG and 6 lbs/gal, that is $244,000 for the LNG alone. I
am not sure of the cost for LOx but I guess $1/gal might cover it.
So, $1 million per flight for the fuel. That is going to make the daily
30 minute sub orbital from Houston to Tokyo and back fairly expensive at $5,000 per passenger (200 passengers) each way for the fuel alone.
Lynn
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