This retarded meme? IT'S REAL! The US Fish & Wildlife refuses to approve SpaceX's upcoming $10B Starship launch until they do this EXACT "Impact Study." READY? A SEAL ON A SURFBOARD, WEARING HEADPHONES, listening to "rocket launch sounds," while they film his widdle face for signs of DISTRESS!
(media.patriots.win)
🦭 Let the unSEALing begin! 🦭
The meme is a joke. The F&WS are completing the assessment update and a mid-November launch is in prospect. Not too unreasonable when the launch pad destruction rained debris on the surrounding 385 acres of the Boca Chica facility and the adjacent state park. Musk was a thoughtless fool to launch without the exhaust diverter. He brought this delay on his own head. And people who carp about safety in this industry are also fools.
Here are the sources: https://spacenews.com/fish-and-wildlife-service-documents-damage-from-starship-launch/ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/11/starship-update-110223/
OK, as always, since you are always legit informed on this stuff (and I don't mean that sarcastically), soooo... I'm confused how nothing in your comment explains how the US F&W's impact study design requiring seals to listen to rocket launch sounds aligns mitigates the environmental and wildlife impacts of debris raining down on the surrounding 385 acres of the Boca Chica facility and the adjacent state park. Make it make sense? If Musk brought this on himself (which he 99.999% did) then how is the US F&W's impact study design ANYTHING but "punishment by process" (AND making this meme kinda therefore NOT a joke)?
I can probably chime in on what is likely to be stated intention, anyway -- whether it's actually the reason, who knows.
When you socialize a dog, one thing that people forget to do is socialize them to sounds like fireworks and storms.
To do this, if you don't get them during storm season, fireworks season, etc. you can put on sounds through speakers, a TV, etc. and slowly increase the volume over time while keeping them calm and engaged with you.
I imagine that this is the excuse they'll use as a reason for it -- to socialize the animals for rocket launches.
Problem is... there's no way in hell that would able to be socialized, it's too loud and moves the ground too much.
I looked and couldn't find any actual substance to that ridiculous meme. If you think about it, there is no way to artificially generate such loud noise. So the idea of measuring seal response is nonsense. They already know from experience at Cape Canaveral that animals can tolerate a lot without panic.
As an example, I was involved in directing a solid rocket motor test for an antiaircraft missile propulsion unit. The booster was over and done with in 1.4 seconds, and it sounded for all the world like an explosion. Many decibels. The test complete, we all congregated at the pad to admire the smoking casing (and wince at the stench). This was all taking place at a remote location, surrounded by forest. I happened to turn around...to notice a curious deer at the end of the test pad, no more than 20 feet away. It looked back at me, then calmly sauntered off. I would have thought it would have been scared into the next county, but no. And then I reflected on the fact that they probably just stand there when thunder occurs. Over with before they can barely flinch.
Another commenter said that the F&WS was assessing the effects of runoff water from the planned deluge system. Okay, that's reasonable. The deluge system is a new configuration. I didn't say that they were looking specifically at debris effects, only that the unplanned effects of that launch were huge and that an environmental concern was at least legitimate. And what are they supposed to do? They trusted Musk on the first launch, and that was absolutely misplaced. The launch site is adjacent to a state park, so the government has a fiduciary duty to assure there would be no harm to animals protected by that park. Not a punishment if it is in accordance with the agreements that Musk approved and must comply with.
I've worked in the field of launch vehicles. I'm not happy with any government delay that is unreasonable. But safety is pretty damn important. You have no idea the magnitude of blast that would result if the total stack blew up. There's a reason that public viewing of the Saturn V launches took place at an extreme distance, and Musk's bird is bigger than a Saturn V. I spent some time once, calculating blast overpressure distances for a launch disaster of a vehicle design we were working on. My boss was puzzled why I was doing it. I answered, "So we know where to put the chain link fence where a pregnant mother can watch a vehicle go off high order. There's gonna be such a fence and we've gotta put it somewhere." He had no answer to that.
F&ws are currently “studying” the effects of fresh water from the deluge not about the previous pad. Can you possibly give a good rational response on what needs to be studied about fresh water entering a “habitat” that commonly receives rain or even hurricanes. It’s nonsense.
Because once it is mixed with rocket exhaust and possible pad erosion, it is no longer fresh water. Relax. They anticipate being ready to go before the month is out. None of this delay would have resulted if Musk hadn't gone off half-cocked.
“Rocket exhaust”. It burns methane and produces carbon dioxide. We aren’t talking about exotic organics being let go here. CO2 is completely understood by scientific communities and there are hundreds easily accessible research papers on its effects. Now add fresh water. Add in the 10th grade education from the fish and wildlife people and we get months of waiting, A completely new pad, new rockets and F&W are still scratching their heads with the complication of water. 😆
It’s okay though, China will have figured out the reusable rockets in a few years and will be onto something completely reusable like starship and we will be here scratching our nuts because environmental regulatory agencies run by yet another incompetent US bureaucratic nightmare who are likely just having a temper tantrum and want a bigger budget so they intentionally slow work the papers just like the EPA is doing. “We could do our jobs better if you doubled our budget.” Every one of these grifters should be fired.
First of all, the launch is expected by this weekend, so your angst is misplaced.
Secondly, I was only relaying what someone else said about the purpose of the assessment. Which was a paper study, since no testing of any actual rocket took place (and the meme was idiotic nonsense).
Thirdly, when you burn a carbonaceous fuel in a rocket, it goes nearly equally to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. You are welcome to breathe the carbon monoxide. It is good for no one. Thankfully, it is not heavier than air.
Fourthly, as demonstrated by the first launch fiasco, there is definitely the possibility of the exhaust "scrubbing" concrete dust (or eroding the concrete) to create particulate contamination of any deluge water.
China is well behind SpaceX, which is the world leader in reuse, and I expect it to remain so. The current delay was never a problem in the development of the Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy. It was entirely the result of Musk's foolish attempt to cut corners. What do you want? For Musk to pull off dangerous experiments that could harm the wildlife in the adjacent state park? Your whole attitude is belligerent without cause.