SpaceX startles the neighbors

SpaceX conducted a nine-engine Falcon 9 test Saturday night, much to the surprise—and consternation—of people in communities surrounding the McGregor, Texas test site. SpaceX described the 177-second test at 11:30 pm EST Saturday as a nine-engine “mission duty cycle” test of the Falcon 9 first stage, and that it was a “complete success”. The test startled many people around the area, including in nearby Waco; the Waco police department reported receiving dozens of calls from people fearing the test was a bomb, plane crash, or some other kind of explosion. Comments in the Waco Tribune-Herald report linked to above range from outrage that they weren’t warned in advance of the test (SpaceX apparently did provide advance notice in McGregor, but not necessarily in other towns in the area, including Waco) to humor. A favorite: “Nothing like a glass a scotch a lawn chair a cigar and 1.5 million foot pounds of pressure to make someone feel alive.”