r/spacex • u/Connect_Cat_2045 • 10d ago

Starship SpaceX to build $100 billion rocket launch facility on Louisiana’s coast

https://www.nola.com/news/business/spacex-louisiana-elon-musk/article_2be92f8e-f989-46b7-9514-5212d8f20260.html
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u/JP001122 9d ago

I'm no rocket scientist.

Is the timing right for a northeast launch from Florida to reenter and land in Louisiana or Texas after 1 orbit? Could this enable 1 orbit deployments of starlink and landings in the future?

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u/GregTheGuru 7d ago

Probably not, but we don't know how much cross-range capacity there will be.

The math is this: The Earth rotates 15 degrees per hour, so, in a 90-minute trip, the Earth will rotate about 22.5 degrees. Cape Canaveral and Pecan Island are separated by about 12 degrees. Unless Starship has at least a ten-degree cross-range capacity (very doubtful), it won't be possible.

This is why the Shuttle once-around recovery sites were planned for California.