This appears to be the first time for Falcon since 2024

(This engine did ignite for the launch attempt)

Heading to McAllen for a few days and seems like I will have the chance to head out Monday for the launch. Any ideas on where to view that are free or cheap. I found a few that were 150+ with no guarantee if it launches. I brought my camera gear and video gear in hopes to get some good images if possible.

Starbase in Minecraft, generated using Arnis! :)

Cybertruck in front, Cybertruck in back.

"Launch table is out. The two-million-pound launch table is heading to the Integration Facility for inspection and adjustments to support our future ConOps. Once reinstalled at the pad, it'll be outfitted with the first stage aft umbilicals and tied into the water system, which delivers water injection just below the engine nozzles."

https://x.com/davill/status/2078442058717569385

Hi everyone,

I know launch-viewing questions come up a lot, so I’ll try to be specific.

I’m visiting Florida from Europe with my teenage daughter and we’re considering driving up from Miami for Tuesday’s Falcon 9 MRV-1 launch from SLC-40. I’ve read the usual guides and older threads, but many of them seem geared toward major launches, night launches, crewed missions, Falcon Heavy, or the era when every Falcon 9 launch drew bigger attention.

For this specific launch, my assumption is that crowds may be more manageable: daytime Falcon 9 on a Tuesday, not crewed, not Falcon Heavy, and no RTLS.

I’m not looking for the absolute closest or most hardcore viewing spot, but for the best practical experience: decent view, manageable parking, ideally some beach/picnic atmosphere, and something that feels worth the drive with a teenager.

For Tuesday, where would you personally go if crowds seem to be less of an issue?

So please allow a few specific questions:

- Which spot would you choose for the best balance of view, logistics and atmosphere?

- How early would you realistically arrive for the 5:15 PM start of the launch window?

- Bonus: if it's a nice spot for a swim before/after the launch

- Any clean, convenient hotel recommendations nearby?

Thanks a lot for any current local advice. I know there’s plenty of information online, but it’s surprisingly hard to filter what applies to a launch like this.

Starship, one of the older iterations but still cool af, booster is in the works that it connects on top of, and then comes the OG launch pad that the booster locks into :) overall when its finished it will stand around 1M tall Which version of starship has been your favorite?

Scheduled for a July 2028 launch by SpaceX Falcon Heavy, the car-sized rotorcraft will arrive Titan in 2034.

Hello fans!

I've a question, why is SpaceX putting lox tanks in front of the trench of pad 1?

The Mars sign was destroyed by the shock waves, although they're not too close to the trench of Pad 2.

Aren't they worried about the shock waves?

https://www.youtube.com/live/5MAkebdefXc?si=3QfcoWNU0AmASa4X&t=5957

A lot of notices for this one, very specific shapes too. Don't recall these for previous flights?

I'll be very curious if we eventually see changes to these systems. Of course Elon would say once it's working properly all of that is unnecessary but issues do happen in the real world, even with tested systems.

The deluge is the easiest to fix. "Just" double the tanks, have enough for two full goes for each launch attempt. However, is there ever a scenario of an abort after deluge engaging where they would be able to recycle the booster so quickly anyways? Probably not. In which case the redundancy is unnecessary and my whole point is pointless.

For engine servicing on the OLM how much time would be saved being able to swap an engine on the booster on it vs having to de-stack and work on it off to the side? I guess that depends on can they leave the starship stacked while replacing an engine. If not then taking both parts off the OLM really doesn't take that long.

The "fix" would be a servicing platform like soyuz uses, can slide out under the rocket, and then slide back into a garage for launch. However this would be a significant redesign of the OLMs which just isn't going to happen. But for OLM V3? I could imagine a scenario where they want the ability.

What do you think? Will we ever see deluge farm upgrades or servicing systems on the OLM? Or are those all unnecessary for a functional system?