A little piece of space history is being displayed on the grounds at the Brownsville-South Padre International Airport in Brownsville.
Crews are placing a wing flap of SN8—the first multi-engine Starship prototype for SpaceX—in front of the airport not too from Starship Road.
For the last few days, workers have been working on the display of the SN8 wing flap, which was donated to the airport by SpaceX, said Francisco Partida, interim assistant director of aviation, at Brownsville-SPI international airport.
SN8 launched to 41,000 feet during a testing Dec. 9, 2020. Although it exploded while crash landing, it was the first successful launch to 41,000 feet that was conducted at the SpaceX launch site at Boca Chica Beach.
A spokeswoman for the city of Brownsville said Friday, that city officials were not ready to comment on the placing of the wing flap at the airport.
Partida said SpaceX employees went out and gathered what was left of SN8 and then met with city officials about handing over a part of SN8 to the city.
“SpaceX and the city worked on a donation agreement through out 2021,” Partida said. “We took possession of the flap, and it took us a while to get the engineering to be able to display it properly, that is what’s been happening here at the airport this week.”
Although the placing of the wing flap was expected to be finished by Friday, there was a possibility that it would be work might continue because of windy conditions.
Partida said travelers using the airport have been asking questions about the wing flap as to what it was, but some following SpaceX knew what it was. “Some of them are immediately identifying what it is,” Partida said.
“Passengers for the most part they know what it is, but those who don’t they approach security, operations or even myself while I am supervising the install,” he said.
A wing isn’t what Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, tweeted about donated to the airport in February. “If South Padre and or/Brownsville would like a Starship prototype, we can send one over,” Musk tweeted. City officials continue to wait for additional details on that donation.
“That’s a conversation that has yet to be determined, obviously it takes awhile. There are legal nuances with donation agreements,” Partida said. “Obviously the engineering of displaying such as ship. It’s tall, it’s big, moving it from Boca Chica to Brownsville that is going to be another feat.”
After work on the SN8 is completed, the landscaping will be worked on and cleaned for an official unveiling.
“We are excited and looking forward to see the finished project and that the both the citizens and residents of Brownsville and our visitors will enjoy this piece of space history here in our front yard,” Partida said.
