No fly zone

SN15 launch scrubbed due to weather conditions

Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER

Dozens of spectators left Isla Blanca Park at South Padre Island disappointed shortly after Cameron County canceled its Boca Chica Beach closure for the SN15 launch.

The beach closure was scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, giving the SN15 rocket prototype a nine-hour window for a potential flight test.

As previously reported by The Rider, the Starship prototype is a stainless steel, 150-foot-tall vehicle.

Much like its predecessors, SN15 will be powered by three Raptor engines and plans to reach an altitude of 10 kilometers, according to the SpaceX website.

It is still unclear why the delay occurred. However, weather conditions may have been a factor.

The National Weather Service in Brownsville forecast that conditions were expected to be stormy with scattered to numerous showers for today.

Jack and Helen Yuen, a couple from California, said that, like many others, they are disappointed that the SN15 did not launch today.

Lea Claycomb, a spectator who drove down from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, said she witnessed the launch and explosion of SN11 and has been a SpaceX enthusiast ever since.

“Hands down, this is the most exciting thing happening on the planet,” Claycomb said.

Asked if she would stay for the launch, Claycomb replied that she and her husband purchased a trailer to stay in South Texas and watch more SpaceX launches.

“Now we’ve got a crash pad for as long as we need to stay because when they stack [the vehicle], there’s nothing that will keep me away,” she said.

New Braunfels resident Carol Starewich said she was really looking forward to today’s launch. 

“I was so mad,” Starewich said. “That just really chapped me.” 

Ron Smith from San Marcos said he was disappointed that the rocket did not launch today because he has become addicted to SpaceX events ever since he witnessed the launch and explosion of SN10. 

“SpaceX is addicting and, unless you have a lot of time on your hands, you should never come watch one of these launches because if you see one of these, it’s a life changing event,” Smith said. “This is the most spectacular thing I’ve seen, and I’m 68 years old. You just want more, you just want to see it again and again. I wish they’d launch 10 a day, it’d be awesome.”

He said that SpaceX has been especially impactful to his life and the lives of many others during the COVID-19 pandemic because it is an uplifting experience. 

“All throughout my life, I’ve needed something to keep me going, something to look forward to, some goal, some interest, you know,” Smith said. “I was into Harley’s, motorcycles when I was young, I was in stock car racing for 15 years … different things have kept me going. I had a son. That kept me going for a good 20 years straight, but right now it’s this, SpaceX. Because, obviously, it’s the ground floor. It’s the history, the beginning of something.”

As previously reported by The Rider, the last rocket to launch from the Boca Chica launch site was the SN11, which resulted in an explosion that left debris scattered across Boca Chica on March 30.