No. Not yet.

Best we can tell, is that SpaceX and NASA are not permanently closing Playalinda Beach, but proposed launch‑related safety protocols could result in lockdowns of the area for 60–85 days yearly, raising resident concerns over tourism and the local economy. That is in the EIS Draft provided by the FAA, but nowhere in that document does it say that beach access will be permanently ended.

Still, effectively, the public could be shut out of Playalinda for 20-25% of the year once you figure in the inevitable weather scrubs that come with Florida launches.

That will have some effect on Titusville businesses and also its residents. How much remains to be seen.

What Are The Anticipated Closure Areas?

From the DRAFT EIS, Page 17 of 410:

Access restricted areas are cleared and any necessary roadblocks are established around 3 hours prior to launch/landing and dropped after the event concludes. In the event of a scrub, cleared areas and roadblocks remain until propellant is offloaded, with the duration variable depending on the percentage of propellant loaded; however, the maximum duration would be about 1 hour. Not all attempts load propellant before scrubbing and roadblocks are often dropped early.

The restricted areas shown are estimated and provide only a representative depiction; exact restricted areas would be determined prior to pre-launch activities and launch/landing. For planning purposes to support this EIS, SpaceX and NASA used conservative assumptions to develop these restricted areas. Ultimately, each restricted area is mission specific and will be determined by Range Safety and the FAA through the FAA license or license modification process.

After receiving license or license modification materials, the FAA will determine the appropriate restricted areas to protect public safety and compare those areas to the assumptions provided in the EIS. The FAA would address any discrepancies or gaps, if found, in the environmental analysis.

Static fire tests would result in restricted access to areas not currently accessible to the public and would last approximately 3 hours each time; these would mostly affect land management and mission-related activities on MINWR and KSC. Restricted access associated with launches and landings would be expanded to also affect the northern portion of CCSFS, which would include Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 (leased to United Launch Alliance) and SLC-40, and publicly accessible areas in the southern portion of MINWR and CANA that includes Playalinda Beach. Restricted areas in areas accessible to the public would be closed to the public during the identified operations due to safety concerns. All closures, whether dictated by public safety concerns (i.e., the Range or the FAA require the closure) or by the NPS due to visitor volumes exceeding capacity, would be temporary.

While restricted access requirements are limited to the duration that the access restricted area is in effect (i.e., between 3 and 3.5 hours), the actual duration of a closure associated with publicly accessible areas may be longer due to logistical aspects. Based on information provided by the NPS, duration of closures for portions of CANA and Playalinda Beach is affected by the time of day/night that the test or launch occurs. Due to logistics of closures (e.g., NPS personnel clearing the park of visitors, etc.), midday (or later) launches or tests could result in the need to close portions of the park for the entire day; tests or launches occurring very early in the morning may result in the park being closed for a portion of the day.

Based on information provided by NPS, it is estimated that there could be between 33 and 44 (using the most conservative estimate) full-day closures and up to 33 half-day closures, which equates to up to 60.5 total “closure days” per year (44 full days + 33 half days = 60.5 “full days”). Launch scrubs and weather delays could affect the length and/or number of closures; however, the extent of these occurrences cannot be quantified at this time. Table ES-1 provides a summary of pre-launch and closure-related activities and notional closure times/durations. As mentioned previously, it is anticipated that, similar to other launch vehicles like Falcon, associated closure areas would reduce in size and duration as the program matures, more data is available, and the reliability of the vehicle improves.

Playalinda’s Role In The Titusville Economy

Playalinda and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are a critical component of Titusville’s economy:

Playalinda draws approximately 1.16 million of Canaveral National Seashore 2.1 million annual visitors, contributing significantly to businesses and jobs in jobs in Titusville. Visitor spending in the area totaled $62.5 million, supporting over 800 jobs and channeling an $83 million economic benefit to gateway communities like Titusville, according to numbers compiled by the National Park Service.

Talk of Titusville reached out to NASA’s Public Affairs Office for a definitive statement concerning Playalinda access, but they have not responded by press time. SpaceX has also not responded by press time either.

Congressman Mike Haridopolos of Florida’s Distric 8, which represents Titusville posted recently, “You can’t be No. 1 on Earth if you’re No. 2 in space. This executive order cuts red tape to speed up launch permits and infrastructure development for our commercial space industry,” the Indian Harbour Beach Republican said. “President Trump is cementing America’s dominance in commercial space exploration.”

Local Opposition Mounting

Local residents have been increasingly vocal about Starship, with their chief complaints being noise, sonic booms and reduced access to MINWR and Playalinda. There are numerous online chats, threads and even groups on social media — Facebook, Reddit and others where people normally gather — raising their concerns.

A new Change.org Petition started by Robyn Memphis lists their concerns about Playalinda’s future, namely that in Texas, where SpaceX is testing Starship, there is a smaller area of exclusion than the one being planned for LC-39A and Playalinda thereby.

In the petition, they take the FAA’s chart and illustrate their point:

The petition asks for the same safety exclusion distances as those used in Texas, as they have proved to be safe and effective and if matched in Florida, Playalinda access would be preserved.

“AA safety radius is 3.11 miles, yet Playalinda is outside of this radius from LC-39A and still targeted for closure, while some sites inside the hazard zone remain open. This is for convenience versus safety,” says the Petition’s authors.

Whether the opposition is a large percentage of locals is hard to say without completing a scientific poll, but simply judging by online activity, the group seems to capture a substantial portion of the local population.

Have Your Say!

No matter how you feel about the planned Starship program, Talk of Titusville urges you to make your voice heard in the final official public meetings before the Final Decision being issued.

Here are the details for the final‐draft public hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for SpaceX’s Starship‑Super Heavy operations at LC‑39A: