Comments on: Florida demands $15K port fee from SpaceX

By: enginemike

enginemike — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 23:28:29 +0000

The Shuttle external tank did not come thru Port Canaveral. KSC has its own facility.

By: Edward

Edward — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 21:33:59 +0000

Does anyone know what Port Canaveral charged for the Space Shuttle External Tank
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/travelinginspace/et_tank_dec31.html

By: PeterF

PeterF — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 20:28:43 +0000

I think Costa Rica might be a better location but I bet the Castros would LOVE the income…

By: maurice

maurice — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 15:56:49 +0000

Remote controlled heavy lift helicopters are a great way to move equipment off this barge.
or maybe use the Bahama’s as a launch pad?

By: PeterF

PeterF — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 13:16:47 +0000

Shakedown, pure and simple. Funny TCM just ran “On the Waterfront” the other day.
I wonder what the “wear and tear” consists of? Does offloading the booster cause more or less damage than a hurricane? When they offload the booster, do they have to use special, sole purpose equipment? How many longshoremen does the union require?
If you’ve ever been on a cruise and observed the longshoremen in a foreign country, they do what needs to be done without delay. In U.S. ports, they move with the speed of molasses unless they are waiting for the guy who is supposed to operate that one piece of equipment, Then they just stand there and pick their noses.
Return to launch point is so much better. No salt water corrosion, No transportation charges, etc., etc. Maybe they can add pop out wings on the next generation boosters like on a cruise missile to fly it back once it goes subsonic?