A Quick Look Kennedy Space Center’s Potential LC-49

I’ve been seeing some discussion about the potential for a new launch pad to be built at Kennedy Space Center — LC-49. This has been on the site’s master plan in one form or the other dating all the way back to the 1960’s, and the potential of it actually being built has risen lately due to SpaceX’s Starship due to come online in the next 6-12 months.

“One potential new vertical launch area, Launch Pad 49, could be sited to the north of Pad 39B.  This location avoids overflight issues with Pad 39B and minimizes conflict with the Canaveral National Seashore, giving potential non-NASA entities a flexible set of operational options.  In addition, Pad 49 could use Beach Road as an access road, allowing for more autonomous operations and the option to operate outside of KSC’s secured area.”

Here’s what the original thoughts about a third (and even fourth) launch pad in the the LC-39 complex was back in the heady days where Saturn V’s were expected to launch on a regular basis from Kennedy Space Center:

Fast forward to modern times, and the idea of a launch pad north of LC-39B has been revived in earnest. Here’s a clip of the map from KSC’s Master Plan from June 2018 with some slight annotations by me to provide geographical context:

To get an idea of the Beach Road that is being discussed, here’s a Google Maps view, with annotation by me to generally correlate with the NASA map above:

LC-49 has been on NASA’s roadmap for quite a long time in one form or another. It was once called LC-39C, in the same approximate area, and now has been named LC-49.

Will LC-49 Be Built?

It’s definitely being considered, and the first steps to that happening are already underway. Spacenews.com reported on December 22, 2021:

“[Kennedy Space Center] announced last week that it was starting the process of an environmental review of the proposed Launch Complex (LC) 49 in response to an inquiry from SpaceX. The center did not disclose a timeline for conducting the review but said it would precede any agreement with SpaceX to develop the site.

“Launch Complex 49 is located to the northwest of Launch Complex 39B, the former Apollo and shuttle launch pad that will be used by the Space Launch System. The site was originally reserved in the 1960s for Launch Complex 39C but never developed.”

Also in 2021, SpaceX began building a launch tower for its future Starship operations at the Cape, and construction has continued at the site well into the time of this writing, in April 2022.

It’s clear that the company intends to launch Starship from Florida, but what’s not yet clear is whether if the LC-39A facility will completely serve their needs when completed. The LC-39A site will have competing interests: it is used for Falcon Heavy launches as well as Crewed launches of Falcon 9. Obviously, while the main launch tower on LC-39A is preparing for a launch, Starship operations will be hindered. And that seems to point back to LC-49.

Environmental Pushback? Not A Lot…Yet

The potential for LC-49 has already gotten the attention of the Florida Audubon Society. Charles Lee of FAS told the Orlando Sentinel on December of 2021 that Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is “one of the most important birding sites in Eastern North America.”

To date, FAS has not issued a stance on whether it will oppose LC-49, pending a review of the environmental studies started last year.

The 140,000 acre site hosts over 1,500 species of plants and animals, and also has 24 miles of undeveloped seashore — the longest such stretch in all of Florida and one of the longest in the entire eastern United States. According the to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s website those include:

• 358 species of birds have been identified on the refuge
• 140 species of freshwater and saltwater fish are known to use refuge impoundments, estuaries, and freshwater wetlands
• 15 federally listed threatened and endangered species call the refuge home

At the time of this writing, the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club has not published a position on the potential for a LC-49, but that is certain to change when the environmental studies are released.

All in all, this is a quiet period while studies are undertaken and public comments are eventually gathered. Count on it coming to the fore in the next year as plans solidify and studies are released and reviewed.

May 17, 2022 Update:  NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) Shows Concern About LC-39A Starship Activities

Spaceflight Now, one of the leading news sites for space news, shared this bit of information on May 13, 2002:

“The safety advisors [..] said there are “obvious safety concerns” about SpaceX’s plan to launch the giant Starship rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, the same facility used for crew missions to the International Space Station.”

Spaceflight Now: NASA safety advisors voice concerns over Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Starship

At the time of this writing, there has been no SpaceX or NASA response to ASAP’s concerns, and construction for the Starship pad adjacent to LC-39A continues. It does, however, underline the ultimate need for LC-49, especially given the cadence at which SpaceX is using LC-39A’s main pad for crewed and uncrewed Falcon 9 flights. No news regarding the status of the aforementioned environmental studies for LC-49 have been given recently, and one must assume that they are continuing.