Source: Visit website SpaceX⁘s plans to build a Starship launch complex at Kennedy Space Center are moving closer to reality even as it potentially takes over a launch site from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was beginning an Environmental Impact Statement for Starship launches from KSC⁘s Launch Complex 39-A. SpaceX had already built the beginning of a Starship launch tower adjacent to its existing pad that supports Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.
Noticeable work on that new launch tower stopped in late 2022 as SpaceX shifted focus to develop its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from its Texas test launch site where it has managed three flights with varying degrees of success. The powerful rocket produces more than 16 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, nearly double that of NASA⁘s Space Launch System rocket for its Artemis program.
The most recent launch in March saw the Starship upper stage finally achieve orbit before it burned up on reentry over the Indian Ocean while the Super Heavy booster crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The previous two launch attempts both ended explosively. SpaceX is currently preparing for its fourth test flight.
NASA, which leases LC 39-A to SpaceX, had in 2019 completed a less rigorous Environmental Assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act for Starship, but it was never submitted to the FAA for a launch license. Changes in the rocket design since and SpaceX⁘s intended launch plans prompted NASA to call for a more stringent EIS, a process that could take around 18 months to complete.
Considered the ⁘scoping period,⁘ the public can submit comments in person or electronically through June 24 before the EIS moves into its next phases.
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