Headed down to South Padre Island for a few nights during the off season to see the SpaceX Starship Launch from Isla Blanca Park. This was my first visit to Starbase, and my second SpaceX Launch.
Visiting Starbase and Launch Pad
Security is very minimal at Starbase, and we got up Monday morning to take a visit. We were under the impression that the road would close at 8am until 4pm. After getting information from a local that we could get right up and see the rocket from Boca Chica Beach, we were sold on getting up at sunrise and heading out to the beach. We just had to be mindful of the road closure information, which can be found on the BocaRoad twitter account.
Starship 6 & Super Heavy Booster Launch
Liftoff of SpaceX’s Starship 6 and Super Heavy Booster proceeded as planned at 4pm Central. The super heavy was to return to Starbase and land by chopsticks, however, something was not nominal so it landed softly in the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX Launch Photos
Isla Blanca Park on South Padre Island
We viewed the launch from Isla Blanca Park at the southern end of South Padre Island. The fee to get in was $12 and they took cash only. Our plan was to drop off the car and take an uber to get some lunch, but it became obvious quickly that once we were in we were in. The park does have concessions and I was able to purchase beverages. Unfortunately we were approximately a 1/2 mile from the car to the viewing area, so we had to lug our equipment out to our viewing site.
Trump’s plane flew over on it’s way to Brownsville. The President-elect was in town to witness the launch as well with Elon Musk. Trumps plane flew just to our north from Isla Blanca Park in South Padre Island.
Crowds near the Jettys
As you can imagine, the crowds were big. Most people lined the south end of Isla Blanca park near the Jesus Christ of the Fisherman statue.
Departure Traffic
Shortly after launch we packed up and walked to the vehicle. We then proceeded to wait for a number of hours to leave. There were rumors of an accident on the bridge to Port Isabel, but there was no confirmation of that. We were free around 745pm and went to get some food.
