SpaceX’s ambitious plans to launch its Starship mega-rocket up to 44 times a year from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are raising eyebrows among some competitors. Late last month, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance filed comments urging regulators to ensure minimal disruption to other launch providers in the area, with Blue Origin even proposing to limit Starship operations to certain times — and give other launch providers the right of first refusal for conflicting launches.
But SpaceX may have even more ambitious plans for a second launch pad right next door: Space Launch Complex (SLC)-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). During a series of public meetings in March, the public was invited to comment on plans to launch Starship from SLC-37 up to 76 times per year. That would mean SpaceX aims to launch its next-gen rocket up to 120 times per year within a six-mile radius of the Florida coast.
The U.S. Space Force is currently preparing a draft environmental impact statement to be made public this winter, and that document will include SpaceX’s final projected launch cadence. A Space Force representative stressed to JS that launch cadence numbers could change between now and then. Such numbers could be affected by the pace of Starship development in the coming months or even by the number of scrub jay nests discovered during the EA process. The scrub jay, a bird native to Florida, is listed as an endangered species.
However, as recently as a few weeks ago, SpaceX’s competitors were still using the number 76 as a benchmark for the company’s plans, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Scaling up in Florida and Texas
SLC-37 is a historic launch site at CCSFS, home to NASA's Saturn rocket in the 1960s and, more recently, United Launch Alliance's Delta IV series of rockets. The site is now inactive after ULA last flew its Delta IV Heavy in April. The Space Force announced in February that it was preparing to begin what's known as an environmental impact statement, a lengthy regulatory document that examines the environmental impacts of proposed activities involving Starship launches from the site.
The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing a separate impact statement for SpaceX's Starship launch plans at Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A. Both studies are intended to examine the environmental impacts of Starship launches and landing operations, which involve the Super Heavy boosters returning to the launch site similar to how SpaceX's Falcon rockets operate.
The Space Force’s environmental impact statement for SLC-37 also considers an alternative: having SpaceX build an entirely new launch pad, currently called SLC-50. Either way, it would likely require significant construction, including flood ponds, fuel tanks, a containment tower, and more than 120 launches per year from both sites combined.
The two launch pads in Florida would join an existing Starship launch tower at SpaceX's Starbase launch facility in southeast Texas, as well as a second tower currently under construction at the same location. In the near future, SpaceX could have four operational Starship launch pads.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has incredibly ambitious plans for Starship, which he sees as a key enabler for the colonization of Mars and “expanding the light of consciousness” throughout the cosmos. He wants to eventually launch Starship multiple times per day, with each launch delivering hundreds of tons of cargo to low-Earth orbit or beyond. The company has a separate goal of beefing up its Starship manufacturing facilities to enable the production of one Starship second stage per day.
Blue Origin and ULA oppose
As part of the preparation process, the public is invited to comment on the scope of the plans before a draft environmental impact statement is released. While public comments on SLC-37 have not yet been released, comments on pad 39A at Kennedy have been — and they include strong statements from Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance about the plans there. Both companies expressed specific concerns about the effects such a high flight rate would have on other launch providers with infrastructure at Kennedy and Cape Canaveral.
“Just one Starship launch pad will likely disrupt other launch operations in the area and have significant environmental impacts, as discussed in detail below. The impacts will certainly be amplified if they come from two launch pads in such close proximity,” ULA said in its commentary.
“For example, SpaceX plans to conduct up to 44 launches per year from LC-39A. If SpaceX targets a similar number from SLC-37, that would translate to nearly 100 launches per year, or one every three days or so,” the commentary continued.
Blue Origin, which plans to launch its New Glenn rocket from LC-36 at the Cape Canaveral site, suggested some mitigating factors which made it clear that it views launch operations at both sites as a zero-sum game. These include a suggestion that SpaceX (or the government) be required to indemnify third parties for losses caused by Starship operations — including commercial disruptions.
