Why I went to Port Isabel TX

NOT the only pyramids out there.....

 

iirc - the Latin words above the pyramid translate to something like, "God has favored our undertaking".
Here's to hoping that favor continues....

 

It's 'supposed' to be a symbol of endurance, and the ability to weather the....um, 'ages.'

There IS no 'official' reason that it's there, but my personal belief is that GOD likes irony.

 

Manifest destiny

 

I thought the words above and below—ANNUIT CŒPTIS NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM—translated to "year of inception of a new secular (as in worldly or time-bound) order".

On the base of the pyramid, the letters are MDCCLXXVI—1776.

The open question is the year that gets put down as the year of demolition.

edit: checking again, I might have the upper part wrong.

Yeah, my bad. Annuit is not related to annum or year; it is something like to nod or smile upon.

So Providence (the eye looking down on our unfinished pyramid) is smiling on the inception of our project.

 

Masonry?

 

I can't see the pyramid well enough. Does that look like mortar in those joints?

Also, I don't know if you're still technically a mason if you just stack blocks up without buttering them first.

 

" ... technically a mason if you just stack blocks up without buttering ..." Arguably a better one if foundation, design and execution are done well.

Mortar makes things easier. Rebar, easier still.

 

For want of a nail.....

 

Ever tried nailing bricks?

 

maybe it's wood with faux brick veneer

 

Starshipping again:

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch final Version 2 Starship-Super Heavy from Starbase – Spaceflight Now

Interesting excerpt from that:

"Starship Flight 11 will use the Super Heavy booster with the tail number B15. It’s making its second flight following the launch and catch SpaceX achieved during Flight 8 in March.
That was the third booster that SpaceX has caught with the launch tower at Pad A, nicknamed ‘Mechazilla’, following successful catches during Flight 5 and Flight 7. SpaceX will reuse 24 out of the 33 Raptor 2 engines on B15 during the Flight 11 mission."

As booster catches make engines reusable, it is being done. Rather aggressively compared to how Falcon engine reuse began (in that program). There may be technology transfer related to assessing reuse, even though one is kerosene and the other methane.

No catching is planned this time though.

 

Launched and nothing has exploded yet.

 

now that ellen is out of office, i don't mind so much

 

By promptly accessible media this test flight accomplished all stated goals. Starship test that catches both components back at launch point will be fun to see.

It is ironic that SpaceX so named their vehicle that can never reach a star, and that Starlinks (swarm) has the secondary effect of interfering with astronomers observations (links) with stars. No further grumbles.

--
Where can we learn how much larger Starship V3 will be?

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I read that Starship for lunar work will need 10 to 40 on-orbit refuelings. Could not be less for flights to Mars.

 

Not even one of the Tesla stores?

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