SALINAS "EN EL AVION" OVER GOV'S AEROSPACE APPOINTMENT

By Juan Montoya
We were mildly surprised over the news item today in the local daily that our former newspaper colleague Gilbert Salinas, vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council, was named to the State of Texas Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee by gov. Greg Abbott.
Doubtless, his assistance in doing heavy lifting for the state to lure SpaceX to Boca Chica to construct the first commercial vertical launch pad in the country helped his candidacy to the committee.
Besides, the state and BEDC's shelling out $25 million in monetary incentives for billionaire Elon Musk to bring his SpaceX down here didn't hurt either.
We have known Gilbert for many years since he was a newspaper reporter, a Low Rider car magazine editor and designer, and now, an economic development guru for the BEDC under Jason Hilts, another heavy hitter.
Aside from the bringing down of SpaceX – for which a number of elected officials and bureaucrats have taken credit – we figure it's because of Salinas promotion of the project which clinched the nomination for him up in Austin.
Salinas was an avid SpaceX booster and sometimes went over the edge with his pronouncements while shilling for the BEDC and his good buddy Elon.
Here's a few of the gems that probably endeared him to the Guv.

1. That Brownsville's geographic position close to the equator so it can create a "slingshot" effect and save the SpaceX craft fuel to go into orbit (not space) gives it a foot up on other competitors such as Florida and Puerto Rico. "The location is ideal for a number of reasons. It allows for a launch over a vast body of water, in this case the Gulf of Mexico. It also is near the Equator and its gravitational field, providing a faster, more efficient “slingshot” launch that conserves fuel," Salinas told the Brownsville Herald's Emma Perez-Treviño.
 Well, not really. The last time we looked at the global map, the location of the competing site in Puerto Rico is a lot closer to the equator than Boca Chica. In fact, Cape Canaveral, the other competitor, is less than three degrees in latitude than Brownsville (25.9014 to 28.4556) , a negligible difference. So much for geographic advantage.

2. Then the other was that the RP1 fuel that was going to be used to launch the SpaceX rockets into orbit were going to be propelled by kerosene, "such as the one you use in your campfire."
Well, that might have been the biggest fib out intrepid Mr. Salinas told. It turns out that highly-refined kerosene used as rocket fuel is nothing at all like you would use in a campfire. In fact, if you tried to use that in a campfire, you might end up blown to bits and end up washed up on the beach as fodder for the crabs and sea gulls.

3. The next one was that there was a "lot of nothing" out there on Boca Chica. That was blown out of the water by the documentation provided the Federal Aviation Administration by the State of Texas Dept. of Fish and Wildlife that affirms that, aside form numerous endangered species such as the sea turtles, ocelot, jaguarandi, Piping Plovers, etc, there were scores of endangered flora in the "lot of nothing" around the site.

4. And the winner is. "the prospect of 600 jobs with a beginning salary of $55,000 each was a huge selling point (a la Trump) with local residents. In some interviews, Salinas and Hilts whittled it down to 400. In others, different numbers were quoted. But they were all "huge" gamechangers.
In fact, the real numbers, according to SpaceX's own declarations in their EIS with the FAA are listed below.
Table 2.1-2. Personnel for Proposed SpaceX Texas Launch Site Operations

Year                      Full-time SpaceX                                   Full-time SpaceX
                            Employees/Contractors                           Employees/Contractors plus
                               Working On-Site                           Additional Local/Transient Workers
                                                                                         during Launch Campaigns

2013                                          30                                                       130
2014                                          75                                                       175
2015                                         100                                                      200
2016                                         100                                                      200
2017                                         110                                                      210
2018                                         130                                                      230
2019                                         150                                                      250
2020                                         150                                                      250
2021                                         150                                                      250
2022                                         150                                                      250

Notice that it is now 2016 and SpaceX was supposed to have hired only 100 full-time employees. And the first launch date has been moved from the original date of 2013 to 2016, and now to 2018.
The Guv is right. Gilbert will fit right in with the aviation guys mientras no se baje del avion.