Some of SpaceX’s rivals are upset about its big plans to launch its Starship mega-rocket up to 44 times a year from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Late last month, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance sent comments to regulators asking them to make sure that other launch providers in the area were affected as little as possible. Blue Origin even suggested that Starship operations should be limited to certain times and that other launch providers should have the right to refuse launches that would conflict with Starship’s operations.
But SpaceX might have even bigger plans for Space Launch Complex (SLC)-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), which is right next door. People could give their thoughts on plans to launch Starship from SLC-37 up to 76 times a year at a series of public talks in March. That means SpaceX wants to launch its next-generation rocket up to 120 times a year from the coast of Florida, which is about six miles away.
The U.S. Space Force is currently working on a draft environmental review that will be made public this winter. That document will include SpaceX’s final planned launch schedule. One person from the Space Force told TechCrunch that the numbers for launch cycles could change between now and then. This number could change depending on how quickly Starship develops in the next few months or even how many scrub jay nests are found during the EA process. The Endangered Species list says that scrub jays, a bird that lives only in Florida, are threatened.
A person who knew about the talks says that SpaceX’s rivals were still using the number 76 as a guide for the company’s plans as recently as a few weeks ago. When asked for a reply, the company did not respond right away.
Getting Bigger In Florida And Texas
In the 1960s, NASA’s Saturn rocket took off from SLC-37 at CCSFS. More recently, United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV series rockets have used this launch pad. After ULA flew its Delta IV Heavy for the last time in April, the pad is no longer used. In February, the Space Force said it was getting ready to start what’s called a “environmental impact statement.” This is a big legal document that looks at how the planned activities will affect the environment. It will be used for Starship launches from that pad.
The Federal Aviation Administration is making a separate comment about the effects of SpaceX’s plans to launch the Starship from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Both studies are looking at how launching and landing Starships affects the environment. The Super Heavy boosters will be sent back to the launch site, which is similar to how SpaceX’s Falcon rockets work.
The Space Force’s environmental impact statement for SLC-37 also looks at an alternative: having SpaceX build a whole new launch pad, which is currently called SLC-50. In either case, a lot of work would have to be done to build things like flood ponds, fuel tanks, and a catch tower. Then, more than 120 launches would happen each year from both sites combined.
The two launch pads in Florida would be added to SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in southeast Texas, which already has a Starship launch tower and a second tower that is being built there right now. SpaceX might soon have four Launch Sites for Starships that are ready to use.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has very big plans for Starship. He sees it as a key way to colonize Mars and “expand the light of consciousness” through the universe. He wants to be able to launch Starship more than once a day, sending hundreds of tons of goods into low Earth orbit or beyond with each launch. The company also wants to improve its Starship factories so that they can make one second stage of the Starship every day.
The ULA And Blue Origin Fight Back
Before a written environmental impact statement is made public, the public is asked to give their thoughts on the plans’ scope as part of the planning process. Public opinions on SLC-37 have not been made public yet, but they were made public on pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance made strong statements about the plans there. Both businesses were very worried about how a high flight rate would affect other launch providers that have facilities at Kennedy and Cape Canaveral.
“Just one Starship launch site is likely to mess up other launch operations in the area and have big effects on the environment, which we’ll talk about in more detail below.” “The effects are sure to be stronger if they come from two launch sites so close together,” ULA said in its reply.
“For instance, SpaceX plans to launch up to 44 rockets from LC-39A every year.” If SpaceX aims for the same number at SLC-37, that would mean almost 100 launches a year, or about one every three days, the comment said.
Also Read: Nasa Gives Spacex a $843 Million Deal to Take the Iss Out of Orbit in 2030
Blue Origin wants to use LC-36 at Cape Canaveral to launch its New Glenn rocket. It put forward a number of ways to make the launch operations less harmful to both sites, making it clear that it sees them as equal. One of them was an idea to make SpaceX (or the government) pay third parties for losses caused by Starship activities, such as business interruptions.
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