The FAA has announced that the public meeting set for tonight that was to discuss draft results of an Environmental Assessment concerning Space Launch Complex 40 has been canceled.
Due to the nationwide Zoom outage, the April 16, 2025, SpaceX Falcon 9 Operations at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Environmental Assessment in Cape Canaveral, Florida virtual public meeting is cancelled. The meeting will be rescheduled.
Additional information will be provided on the project website soon:
The FAA SpaceX Falcon 9 Operations at SLC-40 Project Team
At the time of this writing (6:15PM April 16) Zoom is operating sporadically and had a widespread national outage of about two hours today. Given that the service is likely still recovering from the interruption, it seems a prudent course to make sure everyone who would like to attend the meeting may do so.
The meeting concerned plans for the relocation of landing zones for Falcon 9 from the current location at SLC-13 to near SLC-40, as well as more than doubling the allowable launch operations at SLC-40 starting in 2026. Up to 34 first-stage booster landings at the new landing zone annually is planned, as well as additional launches and static fires at the launch pad as well.
As the FAA states, the meeting will be rescheduled for a future date.
Talk of Titusville strongly encourages all interested citizens to learn what is planned and to make their voices heard to the FAA and others if they wish to participate in the public comment process. Follow the FAA link above for the latest official information.
On March 14, 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unveiled a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) SpaceX’s proposal to increase the number of launch as well as relocating Falcon landing zones to Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) within Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The FAA is now seeking your input, which you can do online or by attending a virtual public meeting next week on April 16, 2025. Information is below.
The following changes are planned. Keep in mind that the proposal is for SLC-40 only and does not affect the company’s plans or activities at nearby LC-39A.
Planned Changes at SLC-40. Graphic via FAA EA
The proposed landing site locations are below. Click on each one to enlarge:
EA Draft Findings
In a nutshell, the FAA found
The FAA is posting for public review a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzing the SpaceX proposal to increase Falcon 9 operations from 50 to up to 120 per year from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Draft EA also reviews the construction of a first-stage booster landing zone at the site with up to 34 landings per year.
In order to meet the Department of the Air Force (DAF) National Environmental Policy Act requirements, the FAA has also posted a link to the Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for public comment on behalf of DAF.
A virtual public meeting will be held on April 16 and the public comment period closes on April 24, 2025.
The FAA
Solicitation For Public Comment
The FAA invites interested parties to submit comments on the Draft EA. Instructions on how to submit comments can be found on the FAA webpage linked here:
To further engage stakeholders, the FAA has scheduled a virtual public meeting on April 16, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Participants are required to register in advance to attend. Registration can be completed at:
If any accommodation for public meeting is needed (such as additional translation services), please submit a request by April 11, 2025 to SpaceXFalconSLC40@icf.com
Blue Origin’s New Glenn on its debut launch in January. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The FAA has completed its investigation into the failed landing of Blue Origin’s New Glenn debut flight. Despite successfully reaching orbit with the vehicle on their first try, Blue Origin was unable to relight the engines for New Glenn’s Stage 1 as it began to descend towards ‘Jacklyn’, its designated landing ship. The booster was lost as a result and an FAA investigation followed.
FAA Statement
The FAA said today that
The FAA-required investigation of the Blue Origin New Glenn-1 mishap that occurred on Jan. 16 is closed. There were no public injuries or public property damage.
The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the Blue Origin-led investigation. The final mishap report identified the proximate cause of the mishap as an inability of New Glenn’s first stage to restart the engines, preventing a reentry burn from occurring, and resulting in the loss of the stage.
Blue Origin identified seven corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence of the event. The FAA will verify that Blue Origin implements corrective actions prior to the launch of the New Glenn-2 mission.
The Blue Origin New Glenn vehicle is authorized to return to flight provided all other licensing requirements are met.
“New Glenn launched successfully on January 16, achieving our goal to reach orbit and deploy Blue Ring. Our ambitious attempt to land the booster, “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” was unsuccessful due to our three BE-4 engines not re-igniting properly. Our review confirmed that all debris landed in our designated hazard area with no threat to public safety. The report identified seven corrective actions, focusing on propellant management and engine bleed control improvements, which we’re already addressing. We expect to return to flight in late spring and will attempt to land the booster again.”
Obviously the best data comes from flying, and we learned a lot from New Glenn’s first mission. We’re confident that the propellant and bleed control work we’re doing will increase our chances of landing the booster on our next flight. And like we’ve said all along, we’ll keep trying [to land the booster] until we do.
Dave Limp, Blue Origin CEO, March 31, 2025
With this, Blue Origin can now launch New Glenn again. The company has stated that late spring is their goal for the second flight of the 320-foot rocket, which implies in 6-12 weeks.
FAA Oversight
The FAA is responsible for investigating commercial space mishaps under several key U.S. laws and regulations:
Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 (CSLA), as amended (51 U.S.C. Chapter 509) This law gives the Department of Transportation (delegated to the FAA) the authority to regulate and oversee commercial space launches and reentries to ensure public safety, protect property, and encourage the growth of the industry.
Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 450 and Part 460
14 CFR Part 450 governs the licensing and safety requirements for launch and reentry operations.
14 CFR Part 460 sets crew and spaceflight participant safety regulations. These rules give the FAA the authority to investigate mishaps to determine whether licensed operators complied with safety standards.
49 U.S.C. § 40113 and § 46101 These statutes give the FAA broad authority to conduct investigations and enforce compliance related to transportation safety, including in the commercial space sector.
To that end, the FAA investigates commercial space mishaps to ensure public safety, maintain regulatory oversight, and improve the safety of future space missions. The process helps protect the health and safety of the general public.
When the FAA investigates a mishap, general practice is to ground the vehicle while the investigation takes place, but this is not set in stone as the FAA can and has allowed vehicles to return to flight in cases where the mishap never resulted in any risk to public safety or property.
Blue Origin New Glenn on the launch mount at LC-36. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville.
Blue Origin had a very good day on Friday: they completed their first-ever integrated static fire of New Glenn, after having received a five-year license for New Glenn launch and recovery operations for Cape Canaveral.m
Launch License
An FAA launch license was perhaps the last major regulatory milestone for Blue Origin in its launch campaign for the New Glenn maiden launch. Late Friday afternoon, the FAA announced that it had granted the company the necessary legal clearance to fly the vehicle:
“The FAA is committed to enabling the success of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry without compromising public safety,” said the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Kelvin B. Coleman. “By working closely with Blue Origin, the FAA issued this new launch license well in advance of the statutory deadline for the historic maiden flight of New Glenn.”
Under the license, Blue Origin can conduct orbital missions from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with the New Glenn first stage landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. It is valid for five years.
Blue Completes First Static Fire Of New Glenn
In recent weeks, New Glenn has mostly been vertical at Launch Complex 36 as Blue Origin ran tests, honed procedures and rehearsed the terminal countdown of the rocket before its first flight. Those tests culminated Friday when launch controllers went all the way down to T-0 and briefly ignited New Glenn’s seven BE-4 main engines all together for the first time.
New Glenn during its integrated static fire Photo: Blue Origin
Blue Origin stated in a press release that the data obtained during testing will be utilized to finalize day-of-launch timelines, confirm expected performance, and correlate models to real-world test data.
“This is a monumental milestone and a glimpse of what’s just around the corner for New Glenn’s first launch,” said Jarrett Jones, SVP, New Glenn. “Today’s success proves that our rigorous approach to testing–combined with our incredible tooling and design engineering–is working as intended.”
The tanking test included a full run-through of the terminal count sequence, testing the hand-off authority to and from the flight computer, and collecting fluid validation data. The first stage (GS1) tanks were filled and pressed with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LOX), and the second stage (GS2) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen–both to representative NG-1 set points.
The formal NG-1 Wet Dress Rehearsal demonstrated the final launch procedures leading into the hotfire engine run. All seven engines performed nominally, firing for 24 seconds, including at 100% thrust for 13 seconds. The test also demonstrated New Glenn’s autogenous pressurization system, which self-generates gases to pressurize GS1’s propellant tanks.
Blue Origin, September 27, 2024
According to Blue Origin, “The campaign met all objectives and marks the final major test prior to launch.”
New Glenn is now expected to launch on January 6, 2025.
Despite no rockets heading to space this weekend from the Eastern Range, it was still quite a busy weekend for both SpaceX and Blue Origin at Cape Canaveral.
Friday Evening / Saturday Morning
Falcon 9 / Astranis ‘From One To Many’ standing at the launch pad early Friday evening at Space Launch Complex 40. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
First up on deck was SpaceX and Falcon 9 out at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the Astranis “From One To Many” mission. After a couple of short pushes to later in the evening, T-0 was set for midnight on Saturday morning.
The countdown seemed smooth and without incident, but when Falcon 9 ignited its engines, there was an immediate shutdown and a launch abort. Due to the nature of Falcon 9’s propellants, a scrub for the evening was called immediately.
Falcon 9, Booster B1077, Astranis ‘From One To Many,’ September 20, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX has not disclosed what caused the shutdown to happen, but as of Sunday morning, Falcon 9 is horizontal on the launch mount at SLC-40. Both rocket and payload are safe, and SpaceX’s team is working to remediate the issue(s) that caused the shutdown. They have not announced a new launch day/time for the next attempt for this mission.
Falcon 9, horizontal at SLC-40 on Sunday, December 22, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin Continues Wet Dress Testing of New Glenn
Over at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Blue Origin continued testing New Glenn as it prepares for the first launch of the company’s first orbital rocket.
New Glenn standing tall at LC-36 in Cape Canaveral on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The rocket was venting vapors and the burnoff towers were aflame most of the day. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Throughout the day and early to the evening, Blue’s team conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal for New Glenn, and at times a Static Fire of the first stage seemed imminent: the venting would stop, flame from burn-off stacks would diminish, while ice was falling off of the rocket. But, alas, it was not meant to be.
The status and outcomes of the Wet Dress Rehearsals have not been released by Blue Origin. Given that New Glenn remains upright and that no statement of any potential delays have been announced, optimistically, things seem to be going well.
As seen from the pier at Jetty Park, Blue Origin’s New Glenn on its launch mount on September 21, 2024. To the right, the Cape Canaveral lighthouse. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk o Titusville
No timelines for any potential static-fire or launch attempts have been given. Aside from successfully completing prelaunch operations and a static fire of New Glenn, Blue Origin still needs a launch license from the FAA before it can send New Glenn on its debut flight. Given that Blue Origin has said that they are planning to launch this year, it will need to come soon — and the Christmas holiday looms next week.
New Glenn venting on December 21, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX Are Staying Busy At Port Canaveral
A quick look at Port Canaveral saw no SpaceX automdated drone ships in port, but both of their support ships, Bob and Doug, were moored at the SpaceX docks.
Booster B1090 is on the dock awaiting transportation to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, and by all appearances, that move will be made quite soon.
Only a few yards to the northwest, Blue Origin’s booster landing ship Jacklyn and its support ship, ‘Harvey Stone’ were also in port.
Booster B1090 on SpaceX’s dock at Port Canaveral Saturday morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleBlue Origin’s Jacklyn and Harvey Stone look ship-shape and ready to head out to see when the word is given. After a successful static fire, when this pair heads out things will be getting real for the first flight of New Glenn. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleSpaceX’s ‘Doug’ moored in Port Canaveral on December 21, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleGood Neighbors: from left to right: Blue Origin’s ‘Jacklyn’, Blue’s ‘Harvey Stone’, SpaceX’s berth and Booster B1090. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Space Florida has approved “Project Hinton” at Cape Canaveral, which will come with $1.8 billion capital investment and the creation of 600 new jobs. The vote on Wednesday was to approved up to $65 million of state funds being committed to the project.
Via: Space Florida
While Space Florida has yet to disclose the company behind this massive investment, speculation has largely centered on SpaceX, which is planning to construct a facility for its future Starship operations in Florida. SpaceX has expanded its presence at Cape Canaveral over the last decade as the company grew and its launch cadence increased to the highest, surpassing even national governments.
Starship is SpaceX’s mega-rocket in development, and plans for it to launch from Eastern Range (Kennedy Space Center plus the adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station) have become visible: the FAA Environmental Impact Statement in progress for Launch Complex 39A, another Environmental Impact Statement for Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral in progress, and the recent request by NASA for wetlands determination permit for a potential construction project at SpaceX’s Launch Complex 39A — presumably the Starship facility planned for that location.
Or, it could be something else. Time will tell.
Artist’s rendering of a Starship on its launch mount at Launch Complex 39A Graphic: Creative Commons
Falcon 9 launching on July 8, 2024 from Cape Canaveral Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusvill
The Federal Aviation Administration, the agency responsible for commercial spaceflight, has announced that SpaceX may resume regular launches of Falcon 9.
The FAA notified SpaceX on Oct. 11 that the Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to regular flight operations. The FAA reviewed and accepted the SpaceX-led investigation findings and corrective actions for the mishap that occurred with the Crew-9 mission (Sept. 28).
Also on Oct. 11, FAA closed the SpaceX-led investigations for the Falcon 9 mishaps that occurred with the Starlink 9-3 (July 11) and Starlink 8-6 (Aug. 28) missions.
The FAA, October 11, 2024
Why Falcon 9 Was Grounded By The FAA
After launching NASA’s Crew 9 mission with Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague aboard Crew Dragon on their mission to the International Space Station on September 28, 2024, the second stage of Falcon 9 separated from the capsule and was later commanded to fire its engine one last time in order for it to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. A specific area in the Pacific Ocean was targeted so as to minimize any risk of surviving debris causing injuries or property damage.
FAA Headquarters Photo: The FAA
Due to what SpaceX labeled as an “off-nominal de-orbit burn” the second stage used for the Crew 9 flight missed its landing area, resulting in SpaceX announcing nearly immediately that it had experienced an anomaly and that it was grounding the vehicle while it investigated the issue. On September 29, the FAA announced that was requiring an investigation and that until complete, the federal agency would not issue the vehicle any new launch licenses. In effect, this “grounded” Falcon 9.
The FAA did grant SpaceX a license for the ESA Hera launch on October 7, saying that there was no risk to public safety because the mission did not dispose of its second stage by deorbiting it in Earth’s atmosphere.
“The FAA is aware an anomaly occurred during the SpaceX NASA Crew-9 mission that launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on September 28. The incident involved the Falcon 9 second stage landing outside of the designated hazard area. No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is requiring an investigation.”
FAA, September 30, 2024
The FAA did note that no injuries or property damage has been reported, which is their primary concern in this matter.
For their part, SpaceX announced on Sunday that they were pausing Falcon-family launches while they conducted their investigation into the issue with the Crew-9 second stage:
SpaceX via X.com
Effectively, the FAA’s announcement today formalizes a process that SpaceX had already announced and started.
What Happened?
After launching NASA’s Crew 9 mission with Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague aboard Crew Dragon on their mission to the International Space Station, the second stage of Falcon 9 separated from the capsule and was later commanded to fire its engine one last time in order for it to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. A specific area in the Pacific Ocean was targeted so as to minimize any risk of surviving debris causing injuries or property damage.
In that post he McDowell said, “Here is the ground track showing the planned reentry area at bottom left. My analysis suggests that an off nominal deorbit that still ends up with stage reentry will impact on the orange line somewhere between the end of the white rectangle and the equator.”
Falcon 9 Second Stage expected track, per Dr. Jonathan McDowell. via X.com
Why Is This Important?
While the Pacific Ocean is obviously a very big place, and relatively speaking, the second stage of a rocket is not, planned re-entries must still come down in their designated zone. Outside of that is considered a hazardous operation because of the non-zero chance of injuries or property damage. In turn, this triggers the need for a formal investigation prior to the FAA issuing a launch license for SpaceX’s next mission.
How Long Is Falcon 9 Grounded?
It depends. If SpaceX can make a case that this issue would not have resulted in increased danger to people or property, they can ask the FAA to make a determination of that as fact and to resume issuing Falcon family launch licenses while SpaceX completes their investigation(s) and subsequent modifications and improvements to Falcon 9’s second stage.
That would imply that this launch pause will also be short, but it is difficult to say that with complete certainty, given that this is the second failure of a Falcon-family second-stage in the past three months.
As always, stay tuned. There’s more to come on this story.
Falcon 9 flying to space on September 29, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Overnight, SpaceX announced that it had experienced an anomaly with the Falcon 9 second stage used to launch Crew 9 on September 28, and that it was grounding the vehicle while it investigated the issue:
At the time of this writing, the Federal Administration Administration (FAA) has not commented on this matter, or whether it would formally withhold launch licensing from Falcon 9 while SpaceX completed its investigation.
Crew 9 Proceeding As Planned
Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexsandr Gurbonov, left, and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Notably, this incident occurred after Commander Nick Hague and Mission Specialist Alexsandr Gurbonov had separated from the second stage, and beforehand, the stage had provided a nominal orbital insertion for them aboard Crew Dragon and Crew 9. That mission continues with a planned docking at ISS sometime around 5:30 PM EDT today.
So What Happened?
SpaceX’s announcement was sparse on details, however the problem was explained well by Dr. Jonathon McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
McDowell said X.com earlier this morning that the Falcon 9 second stage used yesterday did not deorbit as planned and probably came down east of New Zealand sometime overnight:
So where did the Crew-9 second stage come down? Here is the ground track of Crew-9 based on the TLE (orange) and the planned stage 2 deorbit area (white rectangle) pic.twitter.com/gBFlY2f9dJ
McDowell, who meticulously maintains a list of all launches and other space events, added on X.com, “The most likely failure mode that still results in reentry is a slight underburn (less delta-V, higher resulting perigee). If you underburn too much the perigee will be too high for reentry to occur. So you expect the entry to be further along the orange line but not by too much.”
He added in a successive post, “Here is the ground track showing the planned reentry area at bottom left. My analysis suggests that an off nominal deorbit that still ends up with stage reentry will impact on the orange line somewhere between the end of the white rectangle and the equator.”
The orbital ground track of Falcon 9’s second stage after the Crew 9 launch on September 28, 2024. Graphic: Dr. Jonathan McDowell on X.com
Practical Effects
SpaceX is known to complete its investigations quickly, and if it is not restricted from launching by the FAA, one can expect them to investigate and remediate the problems with the Falcon 9 second stages with alacrity. The chances, however, of the FAA requiring a formal investigation and safety determination seems high if the immediate past is any guideline.
Crew 9 Stage 2 on September 29, 2024 Photo: SpaceX, via NASA Livestream
It’s unknown if yesterday’s issue and the one on July 11th are related in any way, and any conjecture that they are is just guesswork at this point. Short of SpaceX announcing that there is any relationship between the Jully 11 issue and the one this morning on September 29, no one knows one exists. That said, it is a second problem in 2024 with the second stage of the venerable Falcon 9.
The FAA has yet to make any public comments regarding today’s SpaceX announcement, but it would not be surprising if they were to formally require a new public safety determination for the incident SpaceX described this morning.
Practical Effects
SpaceX has multiple launches upcoming on its immediate manifest, including the Europa Clipper on Falcon Heavy, which is planned to fly NET October 10 from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also have the HERA mission scheduled for NET October 7, a mission for OneWeb NET October 1st and a few Starlink mission interspersed in between. As always, SpaceX is busy.
technicians working to complete operations prior to propellant load for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Those launch dates are reasonably in question as a result of the Crew 9 issue, as all are within a fifteen-day window of time, if using the July 2024 Falcon 9 second stage issue is any guideline.
None of that is set in stone, however, and this is a very fluid situation on Sunday, September 29th.
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