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November 13, 2018

Soil compressed at SpaceX rocket launch site in Texas

By STEVE CLARK
Brownsville Herald

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — In late 2015 the trucks started rolling, dumping more than 300,000 cubic yards of locally sourced dirt at the future SpaceX launch pad site where S.H. 4 dead-ends at Boca Chica beach in South Texas.

The Brownsville Herald reports the technical term is “soil surcharging,” a process of compressing the underlying soil in order to stabilize it — in this case to create a suitable foundation for launch-complex structures. That process is now complete, leading to the artificial mesa being leveled by earthmovers.


 
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