Starship Lifts Off & Takes SPI To New Heights By R. Daniel Cavazos |
| |
Starship's launch on April 20 was met with joy and astonishment for onlookers viewing liftoff across the Laguna Madre. (Photo credit: Erik Kuna) |
|
|
Cameron County Parks Director Joe Vega got to work early on April 20. It was 2:30 a.m. when Vega crossed the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway. He got across in the nick of time. Traffic at that very early hour was beginning to back up on the bridge in making its way to South Padre Island. It was T-minus six hours and counting to SpaceX’s first test launch of its Starship rocket on Boca Chica Beach.
Across the Laguna Madre at the county’s Isla Blanca Park, “a front row view” of the coming spectacle was available, Vega said, if onlookers got there early enough. The bridge line queuing up before dawn on April 20 was proof that plenty wanted that view. “Charter buses and shuttles were leaving off people,” the park director said of the rocket launch morning. “People were getting here from all over the country and the world. I know of visitors who came from Australia.” |
|
|
Starship flies into the South Texas sky before destructing minutes later after its April 20 liftoff. (Courtesy) |
|
Such was the anticipation of the rocket launch that well over 5000 visitors streamed through the park gates of Isla Blanca before 8 a.m. on April 20. Tens of thousands of others sought good viewing spots in the immediate area as they looked across the water at the launch pad on Boca Chica. Few, if any, would leave disappointed after viewing the fiery and spectacular rocket liftoff at just past 8:30 a.m. on the 20th. The launch was a violent one with the immense clouds of ground smoke it generated, followed by flying debris that went far and wide, with much of it falling over Port Isabel to the dismay of residents. |
|
|
The SpaceX rocket flew high into the South Texas sky with sufficient majesty, but the test launch fell well short of its stated goals and blew to pieces a few minutes after leaving Boca Chica behind. The Federal Aviation Administration said it must review several safety and public health issues before authorizing a second launch at Boca Chica.
For all those concerns, which grew in the days immediately following the launch, tourism industry leaders at South Padre Island are enthused over what future SpaceX rocket launches can mean for the local economy. It’s time to rebrand and say the Island is about more than great beaches. “South Padre Island is the Texas Space Coast,” said Blake Henry, the executive director of the Island’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. |
|
|
Feeling The Energy Henry and Vega could not provide any official estimates on the number of visitors drawn to South Padre for the first big rocket launch. |
| Orange skies at sunset on April 16 at Boca Chica Beach on the day before the first planned test launch of Starship, which was later delayed to April 20. (Courtesy) |
|
|
Island and county officials are working with the Texas Department of Transportation to receive bridge crossing numbers for the week of April 16. It was on the 17th when the first launch was to occur, just days after the FAA gave its long-awaited final approval for a Boca Chica launch. The initial launch date was scrapped, building up the numbers and intrigue for the eventual liftoff on April 20.
Vega said county officials were prepared with their traffic control plans in working closely with area law enforcement. He praised the SPI Police Department for dealing with the sudden crush of traffic. Gates at Isla Blanca opened early and closed a few hours later when the park reached its maximum capacity. There were over 1700 vehicles admitted to Isla Blanca on April 17 and the 20th. Vega said on average that three people per car and truck entered the park on those days.
“I think it went well with traffic control and flow,” Vega said. “We’ll learn from the first launch. We can always improve and do better next time.” The parks director and other public officials dealt with the first-of-its-kind event on the Island. The largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built was set to lift off across the water from SPI. Henry described it as “living through a historic moment.” “When the rocket lifted off, you could not only feel the energy of the liftoff, but the energy of all the people witnessing history being made on South Padre Island,” Henry said. |
|
|
The view from South Padre Island offered a great look of the liftoff of Starship from its Boca Chica Beach launch pad. (Courtesy) |
| Space Tourism For Henry and tourism leaders, the efforts to promote the Island as a new space getaway intensified after April 20.
The CVB director said he and his staff are developing “new experiences” to help visitors plan trips geared to future Spaceship launches. Visitor packages will likely be structured for multiple-day stays due to weather factors and other issues potentially delaying planned launches. |
|
|
“We encourage visitors to plan a three-to-four-day stay to ensure they don’t miss the next test launch,” Henry said. “SPI offers the best rocket views. We are inspired to deliver the best rocket launch experience to all.” The April 20 launch, with all its messy and fiery splendor, “kicked off the official start of space tourism,” he said.
Vega, the parks director, offered the same sort of descriptions in reflecting on the events of April 17 and 20 when the Island was caught in the buzz of rocket mania.
“It brought great exposure for the (Isla Blanca) park and the Island,” Vega said. “There’s no doubt it increased tourism with all our first-time visitors. I hope they come back. The Island has many wonderful things to offer.”
Now, it’s on to the next Spaceship launch and to prepare anew for what may come again across the water from the Island. “The next launch awaits,” Vega said. |
|
|
|