SpaceX SN9 Launch Monday and Both SN9 and SN10 are on Launch Pads

SpaceX SN9 Starship is targeting a Monday launch. The SN9 and SN10 prototypes are both complete and are on launch pads.

Elon Musk plans to drill for natural gas in Texas to supply methane for the SpaceX launches.

SOURCES – Spacexcentric, SpaceX, Elon Musk
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

52 thoughts on “SpaceX SN9 Launch Monday and Both SN9 and SN10 are on Launch Pads”

  1. No, it's the fault of whoever designed a stupid regulatory scheme that micro-manages risks as though rocket launches were still rare events, and is totally unsuited to a modern development schedule.

    You seem to be ignoring that they DID have the TFR and evacuation, and so the FAA had already assured they weren't launching over people.

    This regulatory scheme is like having separate 'burn' and 'ignition' permits, and dinging somebody over lighting a fire you had already given them permission to burn.

  2. I can see the next clash coming: "We have a TFR, license, AND waiver; What do you mean, we weren't allowed to launch SN10, too?"

  3. I hope they'll finally launch today. Like I said before they need to maintain momentum, for me personally progress is still too slow. I hope they will do 12km or so test with SN9,and if it will be success, days or week after that they'll try orbital launch with SN10

  4. like it or not some forms of censorship will exist in future, too many nutters spreading nonsense in the web and it often reach millions of people in nanoseconds (gates brain chip theories, politicians eating babies, anti-science movements and tons of others). Those kind of manipulative (most doing it for profit, clicks on YT, they beg for donations ) people are able to radicalize quite large groups of people and make them really dangerous, sometimes it even leads to acts of terrorism

    Tight surveillance and censorship is ALREADY here(even in so called free countries, democracies), it will stay and only get bigger and more sophisticated in the future. Privacy is over, maybe you will have it only in one place – sitting on your toilet

  5. Basically they had a license to launch, and TFR, but not permission to actually do it.

    I'm with Musk: The regulatory system is fundamentally broken, it might have seemed reasonable when launches were rare events, but makes no sense in the current environment, where you might see several launches a week if the FAA weren't bottlenecking things.

    The disconnect between breakneck progress and glacial regulatory processes is only going to keep getting worse. I can only imagine how slowly aviation would have advanced under rules like these.

  6. Nothing wrong with trying to have normal relations with China, China is too big to stop her rise, 100% it will become future hyperpower(starting in mid to late 2020's). She will be nr 1, it's only matter of time. Its a number game, everyone rational, not being blinded by nationalism knows it. Making such powerful civilization an enemy is not wise, it's incredibly stupid. Compete, yes but at the same time try to have normal relations, trade, cooperate in some areas, this is the way to go for humanity. Alternative is war and death. Also I'm not into that Russian, Chinese etc agent nonsense. I do not believe Obama, Clintons were Chinese/Russian agents but also don't believe Bush, Trump were Russian or Chinese agents. People just have different worldviews, are programmed differently(due to what kind of information their brains are receiving + different types of neural networks their brains have and genetic makeups) and act accordingly to them, but in their own minds they wish the best for the country, Trump or Biden. It's hard to understand to someone who is wired/programmed differently, I myself sometimes have a problem with that but ultimately know what is responsible for it – programming/brain neural nets.

  7. Not only that, a potential black market for Starlink-capable dishes in totalitarian states opens their people the door to the true WWW.

  8. I think they're mostly concerned about Starlink. There's a big push on to censor the internet, and if Musk doesn't sign on, Starlink could really frustrate it.

  9. You seem to be a poster child for the highly partisan disinformation campaigns that are exactly the reason why I am conservative and not a member of the Republican party.
    My awakening started when I was fresh out of the army, hard core fangs out and hair on fire conservative. I fell for the conspiracy theory about president Clinton killing his bodyguard and shipping cocaine into the airport in Arkansas. Made me look like a fool when I repeated it to my very professional family members, and I have never believed anything in conservative media ever since. This was even before the internet was a thing, and we can see exactly how this is turning our country inside out now that the internet and algorithms have amplified it. There are a lot of people making a lot of money tearing our country apart.
    I didn't even guess that "my side" would lie to me, and now I don't believe anything any media says without massive fact checking. You should take a step back, take a deep breath, and start fact checking too. If not, it is likely to have an impact on how others view you.

  10. There is too much factually wrong in everything you wrote to take you seriously. Please learn to fact check.

  11. Where?

    Are you mounting a defense for the indefensible. Look, I wish more lefties were for SpaceX and pro Musk. Sadly, even though Musk is doing so much for the world – the leftist are turning on him because he is not "their" man. In spite of him doing more for the environment then all the Hollywood actors who cry out against green house gases as they travel in their private jets, the authoritarian Dems don't like what they do not control. Musk is too much of a poster child for the American spirit and freedom. Can't have that now can we?

  12. Seems likely; Up to 7,200ft for "space ops" today, unlimited and for launch the other days. Maybe test firings, too.

  13. Uh huh… For years we heard Trump was a Russian agent – no evidence. Did you buy into that? There is hard evidence that son Hunter had a billion dollar plus deal with the Chicoms thanks to daddy's influence. Does this mean Joe is beholden to China… that is not clear, but taking bribes from the Chicoms is not a good sign.
    "Dems are for progress, pro science and tech"
    Okay, then why are they anti nuclear energy, anti biology and into play pretend that men can be women and women men instead of addressing gender dysphoria as a mental illness, claim that "the science is settled" with global warming (as a science guy that very statement is religious dogma not science), unwilling to look at data and quick to suffer cognitive dissonance, anti free speech, and complete idiots when it comes to economic science.
    "They are not blind"
    Yet they voted for a man who is suffering dementia, has used his power to force the Ukraine to stop investigating the corrupt company that hired his son – total quid pro quo in the worst way, and took money from the Chinese. He is a rapist (ask his VP) and pedo. The not blind Dems sure can't see the vids of him fondling a little girls chest – dude is sick.
    "see giant growing competitor(China)"
    So you did your best to get rid of the guy who was trying hard to limit China's power in favor of the guy who is very friendly with China. Already it is obvious Biden administration is VERY friendly to China and will go back to the status quo.

  14. Obama listened to Aldrin, before Hawking corrected Aldrin, about Moon. So he had no plan and defaulted to Commercial, as they would supply some money. Pure chance that Bridenstein saved the day and now everybody thinks the Moon is the obvious next step, which has always been true. But not for the usu reason, practice for Mars. Rather, Moon is next step for In Space Mfg, stuff like planet saving Space Solar. Big stuff!

  15. Space should mean Space Solar as solution to global heating. Anybody interested? See 1977 O'Neill for the plan. It involves lunar resources!

  16. "and new date is because of some random worker mistake"

    Do you have some inside information, or is this just speculation?

  17. He is ready to go today, and new date is because of some random worker mistake
    Dems are for progress, pro science and tech, they are not blind, see giant growing competitor(China) and it's not in anyone interest to slowing tech down.
    And please don't try to convince me with those silly conspiracy theories that Biden is Chinese agent or similar nonsense.
    Science and innovation budgets will increase under current admin, it will speed up science and tech. I a not even American so I am not in any camp but what I remember from Trump era was constant denial of science and desire to go back to old, ancient ways(wind, solar = bad, coal, oil =good) instead of looking into futuristic stuff
    Ultimately, most important tech today is AI, so as long as they'll increase budgets by a LOT, train more AI researchers, there's a chance for US to be nr 1 innovator for some time

  18. Meanwhile, on a smaller scale:

    "A Maine company that’s developing a rocket to propel small satellites into space passed its first major test on Sunday.

    Brunswick-based bluShift Aerospace launched a 20-foot (6-meter) prototype rocket, hitting an altitude of a little more than 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) in a first run designed to test the rocket’s propulsion and control systems."

    See:

    https://apnews.com/article/space-launches-brunswick-maine-062c942d4b4799097b6ca57c82ec54e9

  19. Now drilling for water on Mars. That would make more sense.
    Especially if it came up nice and hot. That would make life much easier.

    Alternative speculative guess: The boring company thinks they've got a way to drill oil and gas type holes much cheaper than normal, and they need a good cover story to get the process proven and ready to go before they establish yet ANOTHER company that revolutionises an established industry.

  20. Nobody will be drilling for methane on Mars. They will be melting water ice & electrolyzing it to make hydrogen & oxygen, then reacting hydrogen with CO2 from the Martian atmosphere to make methane. The energy to do this will be solar or nuclear.

  21. SpaceX was launching long before Trump came into office. In fact, it was under Obama he got his start and Republicans that fought privatizing NASA operations. It isn't government that is his enemy, it is private companies like Lockheed, Boeing and others of that ilk using their political contacts to cause him problems. Also exactly as he said about our regulatory process being antiquated. He solved the FAA problem already though, with his purchase of the offshore oil rigs to use as launch platforms. Once he starts launching from them in international waters he should have less regulatory issues.

  22. It really is a pity; Another four years of Trump keeping the regulators off his back, and Musk could have been nearly untouchable. Now he is at best in for several years of regulatory purgatory, with an outside chance they'll set out to destroy him just to keep anybody else from getting any ideas.

  23. Wise move. Because the next few years for SpaceX will be a fight against continuous unfavorable winds, for anything requiring government approval, or within some petty bureaucrat's power to break.

    Musk could try bending the knee, but he will always be seen as suspect, because he dared to not be a vocal enemy of the Anathema man.

  24. I assume the Air National Guard has air lane closure privileges, being a military institution. Could Governor Abbott make Musk's facility at Boca Chica an Air National Guard base?

  25. One less point of attack. If there's one thing he's learned with SpaceX, it's that anything, anything at all outside your organization, can be used to impede you.

    I'm betting he's hosting SpaceX's site on his own servers, too.

  26. "hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent on quieting hope" that we can skate thru climate probs. LA Times op ed. But the whole thing is planet chauvinist, NO mention of O'Neill "The High Frontier" 1977. Or Space even.

  27. Because there is already a gas well on the property. They may as well get whatever is left in it before capping and using the space for another building.

  28. "Elon Musk plans to drill for natural gas in Texas to supply methane for the SpaceX launches."
    Why would he think that is worth doing rather than buying methane from people who have been in that business for decades?

  29. I hope he's not going to grovel. I hate it when people grovel.
    Plus, I want a chance to see who is squeezing the industry.

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