There is very little distance from the surface to the water
table. That makes a trench unlikely. It is likely that they will
have some type of above ground diverter system. They seem to have
some parts and components for a diverter on site to install after this flight.
Keith
At 02:00 PM 4/20/2023, you wrote:
I continue to be baffled- Why not a flame trench or two?
The amount of energy- thermal, radiative, acoustical and inertial- that is forced to bounce back and forth between the 33 motor array must be staggering.
Even the latest refractory concrete, it seems, cannot survive. How can the motors?
I think that is a lot of undue stress applied to those raptor IIs that are already trying as hard as they can to melt and rip themselves apart.
I guess there must be a reason, but I can't figure it out.
It's also hard to imagine that NASA at Kennedy in florida is going to tolerate all the flying junk that seems to result from such powerful launches, even if the ships them selves are super-reliable.
