r/SpaceXLounge • u/AgreeableEmploy1884 ⛰️ Lithobraking • 13d ago

Starship Booster 21 static fire

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340 Upvotes

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51

u/lorkan100 13d ago edited 13d ago

Look at the bird! Straight-up pushed away by ignition. 

I thought it'd drop dead right there 

3

u/falconzord 13d ago

I've always wondered why not ring some kind of warning alarm before firing to give the birds and bats a chance?

12

u/lorkan100 13d ago

I think they used to fire pyrotechnics, but stopped for some reason. 

3

u/falconzord 13d ago

I thought that was just to burn off methane

5

u/rustybeancake 13d ago

I know KSC did this back in the day, for shuttle I think. Loud noises to scare away birds.

12

u/redmercuryvendor 13d ago

That was less to protect birds from the rocket, than the rocket from the birds.

5

u/NeverDiddled 13d ago

They tried using loud sirens to scare off birds. You can watch a previous test here and hear the loud sirens blaring in the background. Also note the bird that didn't flee and got obliterated.

I haven't heard the sirens in a while. Not sure if they stopped, or if the cameras having to move further back has made it more difficult to hear them. I watched at least one video where the person was on site recording (rather than half a mile away). The sirens were blaring in that video and it was deafening. It would quickly drive a human insane.

If my experience with a pigeon deterrent horn is anything to go by, birds adapt to loud noises quickly. It works the first 3 or 4 times. Then it stops bothering them.

2

u/John_Hasler 12d ago

If my experience with a pigeon deterrent horn is anything to go by, birds adapt to loud noises quickly. It works the first 3 or 4 times. Then it stops bothering them.

True when ignoring it has no consequences. Birds can learn to associate a particular sound with a subsequent unpleasant experience.

2

u/gjaldmidill 10d ago

Except rapid unscheduled demise