Here are things to know for Thursday, Dec. 10:1. Ex-HISD teacher accused of molesting child arrested again after second person comes forwardA former Houston Independent School District elementary school teacher has been arrested for a second time after being accused of touching another student during his time as an educator. HISD teacher repeatedly written up for wearing protective gear to classroomA high school English teacher has accused school administrators of bullying and retaliation because of her decision to wear medical scrubs to work. “I wear scrubs and a scrub cap,” said Abarca, an English teacher at James Madison High School in southwest Houston. The two largest planets in our solar system — Jupiter and Saturn — will engage in what is called a great conjunction.

SpaceX’s high-altitude test flight for its prototype Starship SN8 ended in an explosion Wednesday as the spacecraft attempted to land in Boca Chica. It was the first test of its kind for the Starship, running all three raptor engines in an attempt to reach a height of more than 41,000 feet. The prototype came in for a landing at an angle before exploded at what appeared to be touchdown. “Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point!

Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, marked Wednesday’s test flight of the Starship SN8 a success, despite it blowing up during the landing phase. Can't wait for SN9. @elonmusk @SpaceX #starshipsn8 — nikkcolas (@Nikkcolas) December 9, 2020Congratulations @SpaceX and @elonmusk for the #starshipsn8 launch. It was a spectacular event, the landing was almost a success. SN9 will be the one I guarantee you :D — VAJDAD4M (@vajdad4m) December 9, 2020

BOCA CHICA, Texas – Space fans will just have to wait another day after SpaceX aborted its first attempt at a high-altitude test flight for its SN8 Starship Prototype in Boca Chica on Tuesday. Starship SN8 is expected to fly more than 41,000 feet into the air, do a now-iconic bellyflop or skydiving-like maneuver and then correct itself just before landing on the launchpad. The spacecraft is a two-stage vehicle that founder Elon Musk hopes will one day take as many as 100 people to Mars. It’s the first Starship to be fully outfitted with a nosecone and flaps. You can watch a replay of the first attempt below.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – The shores at Isla Blanca Park are expected to be the place where hundreds of space enthusiasts and islanders go to watch a test launch across the water at SpaceX’s Starship facility in Boca Chica, Texas. With the Starship SN8 launch teasingly imminent, South Padre Island has found a lot more tourists walking the streets. The view of the SpaceX launch facility just a few miles across the water. “Everybody wants to see it happening,” said James Baxter, a Houston native and South Padre Island transplant. I was so excited!”They don’t think they will leave South Padre Island.

One look at Boca Chica Beach and one cannot miss the large steel Starship mounted on a launchpad as well as seemingly non-stop construction. One long road leads straight to the Gulf of Mexico, Boca Chica Beach. On Boca Chica land, the Battle of Palmito Ranch was fought. Several Civil War historical markers line Boca Chica Boulevard. Boca Chica is also a known estuary of the Rio Grande Valley, a bird migration route and a place where turtles find respite, crabs and cacti too.

BOCA CHICA, Texas – The remote village of Boca Chica is a place nature has called home. One Starship prototype, Serial Number 8 (SN8) is expected to make a nearly 50,000-foot flight this week--what would be the furthest flight of all Starship prototypes. “I can’t wait to go and see this,” Ray Wysocki, a SpaceX Starship fan who drove his Tesla from Philadelphia. Boca Chica has a rapidly developing private spaceport where the Starship spacecraft will launch. Now, all eyes are on the SN8, which is currently mounted on the launchpad at the Boca Chica facility.