SpaceX is busy on all fronts, from its bread
and butter commercial satellite launches to
planning its ultimate future of deep space
transportation and multi-planetary colonization.
SpaceX is working toward getting a prototype
of Starship in the air, with planned launches
coming in just “2 to 3 months,” if SpaceX
CEO Elon Musk manages to meet his optimistic
timeline.
It recently completed an untethered “hop”
low-altitude test flight of StarHopper, a
sub-scale demonstration version of the Starship
design meant to help it test that craft’s
Raptor engine.
But SpaceX must also show that it has fully
considered the potential consequences that
its planned launch operations will have on
the surrounding environment.
SpaceX Starship, a 384-foot (117-meter) reusable
two-stage rocket taller than the Statue of
Liberty, is a central piece of Musk's interplanetary
space travel ambitions as well as US space
agency NASA's goal to send humans to the moon
again by 2024.
SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy will launch
from Florida, with the current plan to build
a second launch mount at its current Launch
Complex-39A launch pad at Kennedy Space Center,
which it leases from NASA and currently uses
for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.
An environment assessment prepared by SpaceX,
and released by NASA Aug. 1, discusses plans
to develop additional facilities at Launch
Complex-39A, for use by the company’s Starship
vehicle and its Super Heavy booster.
In this video Engineering Today will discuss
SpaceX’s plans for Starship launches from
Kennedy Space Center.
Why SpaceX is expanding its Florida facilities
to accommodate the Starship launch?
Let’s get into details.
The plans outlined in the environment assessment
document call for the construction of a new
launch mount at the complex near the existing
one used by the Falcon 9 and Heavy.
The modifications to the pad would also include
a tank farm for the methane fuel used by the
Raptor engines that power SpaceX Starship
and Super Heavy.
As for what will happen to the old launch
tower in pad 39A.
Musk said, "(It) won’t change.
Starship launch structure will be attached
to the other side from tower."
After launching from Launch Complex-39A, the
current plan is- The Starship upper stage
would initially land at the company’s existing
Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, which is SpaceX’s current landing
area for Falcon first-stage boosters.
But the company plans to build a pad near
the new launch mount at Launch Complex-39A
for to support SpaceX Starship landings at
a future date.
The intent of landing Starship back much closer
to where it launches — this will require
more study to determine its viability and
impact, however, so SpaceX has left that consideration
for future investigation for now.
Super Heavy would land downrange, aboard a
drone barge ship, like the twin “Of Course
I Still Love You” and “Just Read The Instructions”
ships that SpaceX uses now, depending on mission
conditions on both its East and West coast
launches.
Although the report noted that SpaceX may
later have the booster return to land.
The Launch Complex-39A facilities will be
able to support up to 24 Starship/Super Heavy
launches a year, a static fire test would
be conducted on each stage before each launch,
SpaceX said in the report.
It also cites the continued used of the Falcon
fleet, at a very high launch cadence, for
at least another five years.
“SpaceX plans to increase the Falcon launch
frequency to 20 launches per year from Launch
Complex-39A and up to 50 launches per year
from Launch Complex-40 by the year 2024,”
added the report.
SpaceX is hoping to move to the use of Starship
and Super Heavy as its primary vehicle but
had noted that they will continue to use Falcon
9 and Falcon Heavy based on customer demand.
“Due to the higher lift capability, SpaceX
Starship/Super Heavy could launch more payloads
and reduce the overall launch cadence when
compared to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy,”
the report states.
SpaceX says in the draft assessment that it
also considered potentially launching and
landing Starship and Super Heavy from its
Space Launch Complex-40 and Space Launch Complex-4
launch sites, which are at Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force
Base respectively, but these would not offer
enough space in the case of Space Launch Complex-40,
or would require too long a trip back to the
launch site in the case of Space Launch Complex-4
which would be an overland cross-country U.S.
road trip for a huge rocket.
The company ruled out the sites because they
would require more modifications and because
the Vandenberg site didn’t support trajectories
for the “vast majority” of missions.
SpaceX also notes that it may, in the future,
“develop and launch the Starship/Super Heavy
from its facility in Cameron County, TX.”
A Texas-based launch site would have benefits
in terms of proximity to one of SpaceX’s
key rocket/engine development facilities,
and if it’s successful in making its reusable
launch and landing system extremely consistent
in performance, the downsides of not being
near a large body of water could be mitigated.
These plans, however, will also merit separate
consideration, so don’t expect full-scale
launches for Starship from Texas in the near
future.
“Launch Complex-39A provides the best combination
of available real estate, existing developments,
distance from population centers, and available
clear launch azimuths to maximize public safety
for operational launches,” the report concludes.
“Designed by NASA to support the first human
missions to the Moon, Launch Complex 39A is
one of the world’s most capable launch sites
with the infrastructure to support a wide
variety of mission profiles,” a SpaceX spokesperson
said in a statement about the environmental
assessment.
“As Starship development accelerates, SpaceX
is working with our partners to continue upgrading
Launch Complex-39A’s infrastructure to build
upon past achievements and advance new capabilities
in space.”
The report has no new details about the technical
design of SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy.
The report says that Super Heavy will use
31 Raptor engines, but SpaceX Chief Executive
Elon Musk suggested in several tweets last
month that the design now has 35 to 41 Raptor
engines.
Musk has indicated he will provide a more
detailed update about the design of Starship
and Super Heavy in the near future.
SpaceX says most of the manufacturing work
for the vehicles will be done at its Hawthorne,
California, headquarters.
Some work could be done at the company’s
South Texas test site near Brownsville, Texas,
as well as an industrial park in Cocoa, Florida.
The company is currently building Starship
prototypes at both locations.
The report doesn’t give a schedule for when
such missions would begin from Kennedy Space
Center, but notes those launches would perform
a wide range of missions.
“Starship/Super Heavy missions would include
Lunar and Mars destinations, currently not
supported by any other space vehicle, increased
satellite payload missions, and human spaceflight,”
the report states.
Some launches could take place “in close
succession,” it added, such as “Lunar
Program sending multiple payloads to resupply.”
The report hinted that SpaceX Starship/Super
Heavy missions could also play a role in NASA’s
lunar exploration plans, stating that the
plan to establish launch facilities at Launch
Complex-39A “may support NASA in meeting
the U.S. goal of near-term lunar exploration.”
As SpaceX outlines its plans for eventual
Starship/Super Heavy launches from Florida,
the company is moving ahead with plans for
continued testing of its Starhopper prototype
at its South Texas test site.
A successful hop of the Starhopper test vehicle
was conducted last month, paving the way for
a more ambitious 200-meter hop.
Road closures announced this week by county
officials there suggest the next Starhopper
test will take place sometime between Aug.
12 and 14.
This date remains on track, with a daylight
hop planned.
Hopper will again hop under the power of its
SN6 Raptor, with the production of new Raptors
moving ahead at pace in Hawthorne.
The SN7 Raptor is already on the McGregor
test stand, although it is currently not believed
to be assigned to any related Starship vehicle.
SN8 through SN13 – pending successful testing
as they travel through the McGregor test stand
– are expected to be the six engines that
will be installed on two prototype SpaceX
Starship vehicles that continue construction
at Boca Chica in Texas and Cocoa in Florida.
Construction of the two prototype vehicles
is at a similar stage at both sites, although
progress has been easier to follow at the
Boca Chica site, with bulkhead installation
the latest milestone.
The large fairings will be added to the stacks
in the near future, which will provide a true
perspective on the size of these test vehicles.
