Reference
Starbase Louisiana glossary
Last updated
Every term you will hear about this project, in plain language. Rocket vocabulary, coastal Louisiana geography, and the permitting acronyms that will show up in the first real filings.
- Starship
- SpaceX's fully reusable two-stage launch vehicle: the Super Heavy booster plus the Starship upper stage. It is the vehicle SpaceX says will fly from Louisiana.
- Super Heavy
- The first stage booster of Starship, powered by Raptor engines, designed to return and be caught or landed for reuse.
- Raptor
- SpaceX's methane and liquid oxygen engine used on both Starship stages.
- Static fire
- A ground test where engines are ignited while the vehicle stays clamped down. Loud, brief, and usually one of the last steps before a launch attempt.
- Cryo proof
- Filling a vehicle or tank with cryogenic fluid to test structural strength and leaks. Quieter than a static fire but often the first real test activity at a new pad.
- Chopsticks
- The arms on SpaceX's launch tower that lift, stack, and catch the vehicle. Nothing like this exists at Pecan Island yet.
- Launch mount
- The structure the rocket sits on at liftoff, including hold-down clamps and the systems that handle engine exhaust.
- Deluge system
- A high-volume water system that floods the pad at ignition to absorb sound and protect the structure.
- Propellant farm
- The tank field storing liquid oxygen and methane on site.
- Launch window
- The period during which a launch can occur on a given attempt, set by the mission and by range and airspace availability.
- Scrub
- A canceled launch attempt, usually for weather, a technical issue, or a boat or aircraft in the closure area.
- Road closure
- A temporary public road shutdown around a launch or test for safety. At Boca Chica these are routine and posted in advance. None exist in Louisiana yet.
- Sonic boom
- The sharp pressure wave heard when a vehicle or returning booster passes through the sound barrier. It can be heard well beyond the site itself.
- Chenier
- A ridge of higher, sandy ground running through Louisiana coastal marsh, formed from old beach deposits. Pecan Island sits on one, which is why there is buildable land there at all.
- Marsh
- The wetland surrounding the chenier. It is habitat, storm buffer, and fishery nursery, and it is what makes permitting here complicated.
- Vermilion Parish
- The Louisiana parish containing Pecan Island. Abbeville is the parish seat.
- Acadiana
- The cultural region of south Louisiana around Lafayette, including Vermilion Parish.
- LA-82
- Louisiana Highway 82, the coastal highway that is effectively the only road access to Pecan Island.
- NEPA
- The National Environmental Policy Act. It requires federal agencies to study environmental effects before approving a project, with public comment.
- Environmental assessment
- The shorter form of NEPA study. If it finds significant effects, a fuller environmental impact statement follows.
- Section 404
- The Clean Water Act provision requiring an Army Corps of Engineers permit to place fill in wetlands or waters of the United States.
- Coastal use permit
- Louisiana's state-level permit for development in the coastal zone.
- FAA AST
- The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which licenses commercial launch sites and launches in the United States.
- Launch license
- The FAA authorization a company needs to launch a specific vehicle from a specific site.
- NOTAM and NOTMAR
- Notices to air and maritime traffic that clear the airspace and water around a launch. They are often the first public sign of a real launch attempt.
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Sources: SpaceX: Starbase Louisiana · CNBC: SpaceX Louisiana spaceport · Space.com: $100 billion Starbase Louisiana
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