You can now experience how it is to drive by Starships at SpaceX’s Starbase site through an amazing Virtual Reality (VR) video shot by Austin Desisto Photography (@AustinDeSisto via Twitter). Driving down Highway 4 road at Boca Chica Beach in South Texas feels like you are entering a portal into the future. A giant STARBASE sign welcomes you to SpaceX’s Starship rocket factory. The sandy region will one day become a spaceport from where Starship fleets will transport astronauts towards the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Seeing two giant Starship vehicles standing tall in the horizon really makes you believe that civilian space travel en masse will be possible in our lifetime. The video provides a 360-view experience of the Boca Chica Beach village under sunny skies.
It's finally here!! Have you ever wanted to experience a drive around Starbase for yourself? I've uploaded this 360 video starting from the #Starbase sign, past some #Starships, and then down to the launch site where future humans will go to Mars. https://t.co/5xmrQjpA3Z
— Austin DeSisto (@AustinDeSisto) August 15, 2021
You do not need a VR headset to watch the video, you can easily watch through your mobile device or tablet. In the video, you can click ‘Play’ and move your mobile device to different directions. Point your device to your left and you will watch the STARBASE sign as you drive down the Highway 4 road. Point your device up-down-right-left-all around to see the surrounding areas exactly as they are laid out in person. SpaceX has built a lot of new structures at the rocket factory and some amenities for employees, like an Airstream RV park that shine in bright silver – just like the incredible Starship SN15 and Starship SN16 prototypes located at the Tiki Bar’s backyard, which is the triangular home with an orange roof.
As the drive-by continues, you can even see the twin silver Starships up close and experience their scale when you point the device upwards, look up to catch a full glimpse of the giant spacecraft. The car makes a U-turn and returns to the main Highway 4 road where if you look to your left you can see SpaceX's Stargate office, the high-bay and mid-bay, alongside multiple hangars where engineers assemble Starship and Super Heavy rocket parts.
The journey continues down Highway 4, less than 3-miles down the single road, if look to your left you’ll swiftly pass by SpaceX’s outdoor restaurant that features a giant roof made out of Starship MK1 prototype’s stainless-steel fins. Look to your right and you’ll see empty grassy fields. The VR video is incredible, you can even turn your device to look behind you! As you finally arrive to the Starbase launch pad, you can see SpaceX's first orbital Starship Super Heavy Booster awaiting its debut flight when you point your device to the right side. The drive-by ends with a view of Boca Chica’s blue ocean in the horizon - look behind you though, you don't want to miss the launchpad view from that angle! Thanks to Austin Desisto @AustinDeSisto for allowing TESMANIAN to publish the Starbase VR video for all the space enthusiasts who are unable to visit South Texas. (Open video in YouTube App for a better 360-view experience.)
Featured Image Source: Austin Desisto Photography @AustinDeSisto via Twitter
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
