The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to take public comment on SpaceX spacecraft launch operations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The request for comment comes about a month after the conclusion of an environmental review of a 100-acre expansion for SpaceX at its Hangar X site.
Both projects highlight a continued ramp-up in activity for a company that aims to launch more than 140 Falcon launches by the end of 2024, most from Florida’s Space Coast.
“SpaceX is getting a lot of attention. there is no doubt. They’re doing a lot of amazing things and getting a lot of public attention, not just locally or regionally, but around the world,” said Don Dankert, technical lead for the environmental management branch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. .
On June 12 and 13, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will host a series of town hall meetings to inform the public and answer questions about SpaceX’s proposal to launch Starship from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). There will also be a virtual meeting on June 17 for those who cannot attend in person.
- June 12 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET at Radisson Cape Canaveral, 8701 Astronaut Blvd, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920
- June 13 – 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. ET at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, Florida 32953
- June 17 – Virtual
Participants in the public hearings will include representatives from the Department of the Air Force, US Space Force, US Coast Guard, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Canaveral National Seashore and SpaceX.
“Through scoping, you present the project to the general public and other people and you take feedback and that’s really how we find out: What are these key issues? What are the things, what are the areas that can worry the public? Dankert said. “And that will lead us to say, ‘Okay, we need to look at this more closely or dig deeper or maybe we haven’t thought about this.’
Through the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, the FAA will lead a review of the impacts of SpaceX spacecraft operations in a number of areas, including air quality, coastal resources, land use, noise and water resources, among others.
The assessment follows an EA prepared in 2019 for Starship launches.
“Since then, there have been changes in vehicle configuration, concept of operations, infrastructure requirements. And when SpaceX contacted us for this, they obviously need a license from the FAA to be able to operate at 39A at KSC,” Dankert said. “In reviewing it, we considered it an EIA (environmental impact statement). In some sense, this will complement or continue the analysis we began in 2019.”
He said NASA has requested that the FAA assume the role of lead federal agency in this process, since it is in charge of launch licensing.
“I think it gives us greater reliability and reduces some of the risk. The FAA will have exactly what it needs to make its assessment at the time of authorization,” Dankert explained. “KSC is what we call a “cooperating agency” in the development of this document. We are therefore fully committed.
In 2019, SpaceX’s proposal called for 24 Starship launches per year, but with a different-looking Starship rocket. At the time, it was believed that the upper stage would consist of seven Raptor engines and would land either on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) of the Cape Canaveral Space Station (CCSFS) or on a drone ship.
Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster would consist of 31 Raptor engines and would also land on a droneship. It was not planned at the time for the booster to return for a landing on the LC-39A.
“SpaceX is now proposing to build additional launch infrastructure not previously considered in the 2019 EA: a Super Heavy Capture Tower, a Natural Gas Liquefaction System, and an Air Separation Unit for propellant generation, as well as stormwater/deluge ponds,” the FAA wrote. He added in a separate document that SpaceX would likely use about 1 million gallons of flood water per launch attempt.
“SpaceX also proposes to launch an advanced design of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicle (up to nine Raptor engines for Starship and up to 35 Raptor engines for the Super Heavy booster), operating at a higher projected launch rate (up to ‘at 44 launches per year) and land the Super Heavy booster on the LC-39A to support its reuse concept. It is no longer proposed to land spacecraft in Landing Zone 1 of the CCSFS.
The new proposal would also give SpaceX the option to land the booster either on the LC-39A, on a droneship, or spend it at least five nautical miles from the coast. A similar environmental assessment is being conducted by the Department of the Air Force for Space Operations at Space Launch Complex 37, the former home of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 Heavy rocket.
In an FAA document outlining SpaceX’s proposal, the agency said there were no alternative options that would constitute a reasonable course change from the main proposal. He argued that “the only alternative to the proposed action as described in this EIA is the no action alternative”.
“The LC-39A could provide NASA with a critical mission capability for near-term lunar exploration under NASA’s Artemis and Human Landing System programs,” the FAA wrote. “In addition to NASA’s mission-critical requirements, LC-39A would provide a diversity of launch sites for Starship-Super Heavy to serve commercial exploration interests.”
The FAA also previewed future versions of the fully integrated Starship rocket, saying it “is expected to be up to 492 feet (150 meters) tall depending on configuration and approximately 30 feet in diameter.” That’s in comparison to the vehicle launched today, which is just 397 feet (121 meters) tall.
The document also states that the upgraded version of the Starship will include 35 Raptor engines for the Super Heavy booster and nine for the upper stage.
100 acres, plus wood
In addition to the Starship launch proposal, KSC has been busy with another request from SpaceX. Dankert’s office spent the better part of two years reviewing a SpaceX proposal to expand its main footprint at KSC, known as the Roberts Road campus, by 100 acres.
As part of an environmental assessment (EA) approved in 2018, SpaceX has made notable expansions and improvements to its current 67 acres, but this new expansion aims to consolidate the majority of its assets around Brevard County to this place.
As is the case with any infrastructure project in KSC, this meant undergoing federally mandated NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) review. Part of this involves soliciting public opinion on the general proposal near the beginning of the assessment, and then soliciting public comment again once a draft environmental assessment is released.
“We publish the document, post it on the website and give the general public, including all of our stakeholder agencies and others, an opportunity to read the document, review the subsequent findings and then provide formal comments to the committee. agency to be considered by us and SpaceX in developing the final document,” Dankert said.
After conducting due diligence and considering all feedback, NASA released a FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) this spring, which paves the way for SpaceX to move forward with its plans. ‘expansion. The next step in this process is for SpaceX to establish a lease agreement with KSC.
“It’s underway, in the final stages of executing this actual agreement between NASA and SpaceX,” Dankert said.
Transforming this hundred-acre plot of land will not be a quick process. Part of SpaceX’s ability to develop the space will involve submitting a site plan to NASA “with additional details on building dimensions and site layout,” according to the FONSI document.
“The KSC site plan review process identifies potential constraints, including land use, operational conflicts, natural resources, line of sight, safety and security, and ensures that the SpaceX plan is consistent with this EES,” the document states. “SpaceX would implement changes required by NASA.”
Details of SpaceX’s future expansion remain largely under wraps, but the documentation provides a few crumbs of information. For example, in the Biological Opinion prepared by the Florida Ecological Services Office (FESFO) of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), reference is made to buildings up to 400 feet tall.
“The action proposes the construction of multiple towers up to 400 feet in height,” Robert Carey, director of FESFO’s Environmental Review Division, wrote in his report. “Although the action is located approximately six miles from the nearest nesting beach, the height of these towers has the potential to be seen by nesting sea turtles during the sea turtle nesting season. sea.”
For reference, the Statue of Liberty is approximately 305 feet (approximately 93 m) tall and the current iteration of Starship’s Super Heavy booster is 232 feet (approximately 71 m).
Even with the FONSI now released, Dankert and his office will continue to work with SpaceX on the future of the site.
“When SpaceX begins to develop its finalized plans, we will have the opportunity to review them and make sure they use turtle-friendly lighting as much as possible, where appropriate,” Dankert said. “Even though it’s a good distance from the beach, it can contribute to what we call ‘sky glow’ on the beach.”
“SpaceX has an excellent environmental team that we work closely with on an ongoing basis through land development, construction, and then future operations.”