Space Archives - Page 20 of 79

May 29, 2025

The Roar of Progress: BYU’s Studies on SpaceX’s Starship Acoustics

SpaceX Starship lifting off on the IFT-2 test from Boca Chica Texas. Photo: Richard P. Gallagher, Florida Media Now

What They Learn In Texas Will Inform Starship Sound Modeling For the Space Coast

As SpaceX’s Starship prepares for an ambitious launch schedule here at on the Space Coast at Kennedy Space Center, residents’ concerns about its acoustic impact on surrounding communities and environments have come to the forefront.

Dr. Kent Gee, a physics professor and Department Chair of the Physics and Astronomy department at Brigham Young University (BYU) leads a team dedicated to understanding the noise generated by this powerful rocket. He and his team of researchers have conducted sound studies for Starship in Texas and the SLS at Kennedy Space Center, yielding some interesting results.

SpaceX has stated that they plan to launch Starship from KSC this year, and indeed, construction of the launch mount for the world’s most powerful rocket continues apace at LC-39A. While a Starship launch from the Space Coast in 2025 may be an ambitious plan, it is safe to say that within the next year the area will see, hear and feel this rocket as it climbs off the launch pad and makes its way to orbit from Florida.

Artemis Testing

“I took the students to church and we were talking to people at Merritt Island,” Dr. Gee related to Talk of Titusville. “They said, oh, you’re from BYU, what are you doing here?”

“Everyone, every single person we talked to said they wanted to tell us that some Falcon 9 launches like rattled their windows and other ones you didn’t hear at all.”

Such stories are common on the Space Coast. Some days, one may barely hear a Falcon 9 in some areas of the region, while others in other places watching the same launch from a different place might report their windows rattling or their dog barking because of the thunder-like sound of the ascending rocket.

Measuring the acoustic impact of rockets like Starship is complex due to factors like atmospheric conditions and the rocket’s trajectory. Dr. Gee’s team utilizes various sound metrics, including A-weighted and Z-weighted Decibels, to capture a comprehensive picture of the noise levels. Their findings suggest that current environmental assessments may underestimate the true acoustic impact of such launches.

Dr. Gee told us “there’s a paper that we published on the Artemis I launch. We went due west [from the launch site.] I had people sitting there [about 30 km] due west.”

Read Dr. Gee’s research here.Download

“I was on the other side of the Indian River south of Titusville, about 30 kilometers, basically southwest of [the launch pad.] We were about the same distance [as the team that was due west.] I got about 100 decibels where I was.”

The team located due west? Dr. Gee explained, “They didn’t even hear the noise at 30 kilometers.”

That may seem odd, but again, sound propagation is affected by a number of factors: local weather, winds, ambient humidity and of course the direction the rocket is flying.

Dr. Gee explained that the sound he experienced from Artemis was like many other launches with “Low frequencies. It was not quiet, but because it was such low frequencies, it wasn’t like overwhelmingly loud, but it was it was about what I expected, having been to prior launches and guessing.”

Dr. Gee added that “At [some places] 50 km [from the launch site,] it was like 80 Decibels and so it was like it hit like right across the Indian River. Maybe because the land mass was warmer and so you got upward refraction [of the noise] and then it bent back down.

Basic diagram of a rocket’s noise emissions.
Via: FAA

“There’s some complicated stuff going on,” he added.

That would explain the wildly varying accounts of how loud Artemis I was in different parts of the Space Coast region. Some said it was almost quiet, others reported a teeth-chattering experience. It all depended on where the observer was located and whether the local conditions were favorable to sound traveling from the ascending SLS rocket to where they were.

How Loud Will Starship Seem?

Dr. Gee’s research in Texas reveals that a single Starship launch produces noise levels equivalent to 4–6 Space Launch System (SLS) launches or at least 10 Falcon 9 launches. Measurements taken during Starship’s fifth and sixth test flights indicated that even at distances of 10 kilometers, the sound was as loud as a rock concert. At 20 kilometers, it matched the noise level of a table saw or snow blower, and at 30–35 kilometers, it was comparable to a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer. That’s pretty loud.

“It’s got this low-frequency rumble that’s just overwhelming,” Dr. Gee explained. “And then on top of it, you have this kind of high-frequency popping. I call it crackle. It’s a very unique sound experience.”

In their paper, “Starship super heavy acoustics: Far-field noise measurements during launch and the first-ever booster catch“, Dr. Gee and his team notes that the booster return resulted in a louder sound from the sonic boom that heralds the return of the booster.

The highest-amplitude event at all eight stations is the flyback sonic boom which set off car alarms at Stations 2 (10.1 km) and 4 (16.6 km). A prior Falcon 9 study (Anderson , 2024) shows near the landing pad, maximum launch noise exceeds the flyback boom, but that there is a range (∼2 km for the Falcon 9) beyond which the cylindrically spreading boom’s overpressure becomes larger in amplitude than the spherically spreading launch noise. The booster’s flyback boom’s overpressure of 7.1 psf (0.34 kPa) is part of a clean triple-shock waveform that is similar to Falcon 9’s signature (Anderson , 2024), despite the fact that Falcon 9 has a different geometry. An ongoing investigation into the aeroacoustic origins of Falcon 9’s triple boom, when complete, should also provide insights into the Super Heavy flyback boom.

Starship super heavy acoustics: Far-field noise measurements during launch and the first-ever booster catch, Dr. Kent Gee, et. al, JASA Express Lett. 4, 113601 (2024)

Sounds Like Apollo

If that’s reminiscent to old-timers in the area of the venerable Saturn V from the Apollo program, they aren’t far off. Saturn V launches were well known for their low-frequency rumbles, which gave launch spectators the feeling of the Earth shaking below their feet.

The sound power produced by SLS (202.4 dB) is still extremely loud. We compared the launch noise levels recorded at 5 km away from the rocket to the sound levels of a fresh bowl of crackling Rice Krispies® and found that SLS’s noise intensity at this distance from the rocket was approximately 40 million times greater than the crackling of cereal. If this comparison only leaves you more confused, you can think of it being about as loud as operating a chainsaw (but with the rocket over 5 km away).

Taggart Durant, “SLS vs. Saturn V: Which Was Louder?”

Effects On Wildlife?

The intense noise levels in Texas have raised concerns about potential impacts on nearby communities and wildlife there in the lower Rio Grande area and for people here on the Space Coast. Residents have reported instances of car alarms being triggered and windows rattling due to the sonic booms. Dr. Gee emphasizes the need for further studies to understand the long-term effects of repeated exposure to such noise, especially with plans for frequent launches.

An Osprey on the hunt in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Starship Will Be Louder Than Falcon 9

“Titusville, Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, those, those towns are, are gonna see greater sound levels than what you get with the Falcon 9,” Dr. Gee said.

As for the Starship Heavy noise experienced in Texas, “people are in Port Isabel — about 10 km away in Texas — they’re not reporting broken windows [after a Starship launch,]” he added. 10 km, or about 6.2 miles, is closer than any private property near LC-39A.

“I even suggested that resident surveys in the Boca Chica region would be helpful in assessing long range impacts.” Then Dr. Gee added, “I have to be careful because I don’t want to make people think that I’m calling out SpaceX saying you should XYZ. To me that’s the FAA or whoever’s job to say you ought to be looking at this because you could be gaining additional data that would be helpful in Florida.”

Those sound studies are underway, as part of the Environmental Assessment being completed by the FAA and NASA for the venerable launch complex.

Dr. Gee added, “We’re trying to put out information that we feel, feel like is helpful to provide a, to paint a realistic picture of where this rocket fits in with other rockets and what sound levels might be expected according to at least the propagation over two flights of what we measured in the field.”

The town of Cape Canaveral is embarking on sound studies, according to a recent report in Florida Today. Rick Neale reported in an article “Ahead of Starship’s arrival, Cape Canaveral to study rocket launch noise, vibrations” that:

“In a proactive move, the Cape Canaveral City Council unanimously approved an upcoming $10,019 rocket launch impact study with the Florida Institute of Technology. Researchers will install sensor suites this summer at a handful of municipal and privately owned buildings across the 1.9-square-mile city, collecting data on decibel levels, vibrations and air quality before, during and after every launch through at least May 2026.”

Dr. Gee concluded that more data is needed to fully understand the noise effects of rocket launches, “There’s longer term impacts that we just don’t quite understand yet. And I think that’s, there’s opportunities for the science to catch up.” With the City of Cape Canaveral monitoring every launch from preset locations, models that Dr. Gee and the BYU team create will only be more informative.

One thing is certain: the Eastern Range is only going to get busier as more companies conduct more launches with more powerful rockets. While Starship, SLS, and Falcon 9 get all of the attention, New Glenn and Vulcan are also in the mix, and that’s before Relativity, Vaya Space, and others join the fray.

The LC-39A EIS

The ongoing environmental assessment for Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center involves SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy launch and landings, with an expected high level of activity at the site.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), not an Environmental Assessment (EA), due to changes in the vehicle’s design and operations since the 2019 EA, which found no significant impact.

The EIS process was initiated with a Notice of Intent published on May 10, 2024, and scoping meetings were held in June 2024 to gather public input. A release date for the Draft EA has not yet been announced.

FAA LC39A Document 80626 Download

In the document above, the FAA lays out its noise metrics that will be considered for the ongoing EIS.

May 28, 2025

Launch Report: SpaceX Launches Starlink 10-32 From KSC This Morning

Starlink 10-32 in flight. Photo: Ed Cordero, ERC Photos

SpaceX sent another tranche of 27 Starlink satellites to orbit this morning when it launched Falcon 9 on the Starlink 10-32 mission from Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff was at 9:30 AM ET from Launch Complex 39A beneath warm, summery skies.

Ascent was as expected as by all appearances, everything went to plan during the rise to orbit. Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) was at T+ 02:24, and Booster B1080 completed its 19th mission when it landed on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’ at T+ 08:09.

Starlink 10-32 lifts off, as seen from Kennedy Point Park in Titusville.
Photo: Ed Cordero, ERC Photos

According to SpaceX, this is the same booster that launched Ax-2, Euclid, Ax-3, CRS-30, SES ASTRA 1P, NG-21, and 12 Starlink missions. ‘Just Read The Instructions’ will now return to Port Canaveral, where B1080 will be offloaded and returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility on Roberts Road for processing and preparation for its next flight.

About the same time the booster was landing, the second stage and the payload of Starlink satellites were reaching orbit.

Payload

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation developed, launched and operated by SpaceX, providing high-speed internet access across the globe—especially in remote and underserved regions. Unlike traditional satellite internet systems that rely on a few large satellites in geostationary orbit, Starlink uses thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), about 550 kilometers above the surface.

This network of satellites forms a mesh of constantly moving nodes that relay data between user terminals on the ground and internet gateways. The lower altitude significantly reduces latency compared to older satellite systems. While traditional satellite Internet can have latencies of 600 milliseconds or more, Starlink aims for 20 to 40 milliseconds, making it viable for online gaming, video calls, and other real-time applications.

Each Starlink satellite weighs about 260 kilograms and is equipped with multiple high-throughput antennas and a single solar array for power. The satellites use phased-array antennas to dynamically steer beams of data as needed, optimizing coverage and performance. Some newer models are also equipped with laser links that allow satellites to communicate with each other directly, reducing the need to bounce data through ground stations and increasing the system’s resilience.

Launch Replay

Next Launch

Falcon 9 Block 5 | GPS III SV08 Mission Details

Mission	Falcon 9 Block 5 \| GPS III SV08
Organization	SpaceX
Location	Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5
Pad	Space Launch Complex 40
Status	To Be Confirmed
Status Info	Awaiting official confirmation – current date is known with some certainty.
Window Opens	Friday, 05/30/2025 1:23:00 PM EDT
Window Closes	Friday, 05/30/2025 1:38:00 PM EDT
Destination	Medium Earth Orbit
Mission Description	Eighth of ten GPS III missions.

May 22, 2025

Boeing and NASA Advance Artemis III with Key Milestone, But SLS Future Remains Uncertain

*Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s final assembly.*
Photo: Boeing / NASA

NASA and Boeing have taken a crucial step forward in prepping the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis III—the mission slated to return astronauts to the Moon—by completing thermal insulation on the core stage’s massive liquid hydrogen tank at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

“There are better process controls in place than we’ve ever had before, and there are specialized production technicians who must have certifications to operate the system. It’s quite an accomplishment and a lot of pride in knowing that we’ve completed this step of the build process,” said Boeing’s Brian Jeansonne, the integrated product team senior leader for the thermal protection system at NASA Michoud.

The operation involved applying a specialized thermal protection system (TPS) to shield the tank from extreme temperatures. It’s essential work: the tank must keep liquid hydrogen chilled at minus 423°F and endure the searing heat of launch and ascent. Using a robotic system, NASA and Boeing crews sprayed on 107 feet of foam insulation in just under two hours—marking the largest such application in spaceflight history.

“The thermal protection system protects the SLS rocket from the heat of launch while also keeping the thousands of gallons of liquid propellant within the core stage’s tanks cold enough,” said Jay Bourgeois, thermal protection systems lead at NASA Michoud. “Without it, the propellant would boil off too quickly to sustain a successful launch.”

Artemis III builds on the upcoming Artemis II crewed test flight and will introduce new systems, including next-gen spacesuits and a lunar lander, as NASA targets a historic first—sending astronauts to explore the Moon’s South Pole. The mission is seen as a stepping stone to human exploration of Mars.

Despite this progress, the future of the SLS program beyond Artemis III is murky. The rocket has faced repeated delays and ballooning costs—currently topping $2 billion per launch. As NASA pushes toward greater reliance on commercial launch systems like SpaceX’s Starship, some in the space policy community have questioned how long the SLS can remain viable.

Experts estimate there is a growing chance—around 30–50%—that Artemis III could be the SLS rocket’s final mission if commercial alternatives prove more reliable and cost-effective. Decisions about extending the SLS program may hinge on Artemis III’s performance and broader shifts in NASA’s strategy for deep space exploration.

For now, the agency is racing to meet Artemis III’s ambitious timeline, eyeing a late 2026 launch. Whether the SLS will be part of NASA’s long-term future—or a stepping stone soon left behind—remains to be seen.

May 20, 2025

Blue Origin Reiterates Plan To Land On The Moon In 2025

At the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium meeting at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory’s Kossiakoff Center in Laurel, Maryland, Blue Origin’s Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence, John Couluris, said today that the company plans to land the first “Mark 1” version of its Blue Moon lander “this year.”

The plan seems bold for a company with one orbital launch on its resume, with a second New Glenn flight ostensibly planned for next month. Some signs of that second launch have been seen at Cape Canaveral, for example, the second stage planned for that launch was hot-fired at the company’s facility at Launch Complex 36.

Blue Origin NG-1 launch. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

The payload for the second launch of New Glenn is currently slated to fly NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE), a dual-spacecraft mission to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.

The EscaPADE mission implies that any Blue Moon lander flight would come on a third New Glenn flight, sometime in the second half of the year. That said, spaceflight schedules and timelines are often extended as unforeseen problems slow the given project. New Glenn itself is a perfect example, as it came several years later than originally planned due to roadblocks and challenges that arose in the design and assembly of the rocket.

At the same time, Couluris has consistently stated that the Blue Moon lander mission would come sooner rather than later. “This lander, we’re expecting to land on the moon between 12 to 16 months from today,” he said in March in an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes. “That is what our team is aiming towards.”

The Mark 1 lander is a test mission, according to Blue Origin. “The Pathfinder Mission (MK1-SN001) will be a demonstration mission, with MK1-SN002 and beyond available to payload customers. MK1-SN001 proves out critical systems, including the BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power and propulsions systems, avionics, continuous downlink communications, and precision landing within 100 m site accuracy, prior to the uncrewed NASA Human Landing System mission for the Artemis program.”

May 14, 2025

Launch Report: SpaceX Sends Starlink 6-67 To Orbit In A Lunchtime Launch

Starlink 6-67 launch. Photo by Ed Cordero

SpaceX launched their 57th mission of 2025 this afternoon from Cape Canaveral when the company sent the Starlink 6-67 mission to low Earth orbit aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 12:38 PM EDT, right at the opening of the launch window.

Following a “norminal” initial ascent and stage separation, Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1090 touched down on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean, concluding its fourth flight. This booster previously launched the SES O3b mPOWER-E, Crew-10 and Bandwagon-3 missions, and will now return to Port Canaveral for offloading and refurbishment at SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center prior to its next flight.

The second stage and payload also had a “norminal” day, where they reached orbit a little more than eight minutes after liftoff. At 1:47 PM ET, SpaceX announced a successful payload deployment, marking another successful mission for the company (pending second stage disposal).

Payload

Today’s payload was 28 Starlink satellites that will now join the other Starlink satellites from Group 6 in the Starlink constellation.

That array of satellites provides Internet connectivity globally to over five million customers in over 125 countries and territories, spanning all seven continents.

Launch Replay

Next Launch

Another group of Starlink satellites are scheduled to launch NET Monday evening:

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 12-15 Mission Details

Mission	Falcon 9 Block 5 \| Starlink Group 12-15
Organization	SpaceX
Location	Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5
Pad	Space Launch Complex 40
Status	To Be Confirmed
Status Info	Awaiting official confirmation – current date is known with some certainty.
Window Opens	Monday, 05/19/2025 11:40:00 PM EDT
Window Closes	Tuesday, 05/20/2025 12:46:00 AM EDT
Destination	Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description	A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for a space-based Internet communication system.

Please note that the launch window times are provided in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

For the most current information regarding the launch schedule and status, please refer to official updates from SpaceX.

May 9, 2025

FAA Holds Online Public Meeting For SpaceX SLC-40 EA

Last night the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) convened a virtual public meeting to gather stakeholder input on the SpaceX Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for proposed modifications at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC‑40) on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The session—rescheduled after an April 16 meeting was derailed by a nationwide Zoom outage—marked a critical opportunity for local residents, environmental advocates, industry representatives and government agencies to weigh in on SpaceX’s plan to increase Falcon 9 launch cadence and build a new first‑stage booster landing zone adjacent to the pad.

As it did in its March 2025 Draft EA, if the FAA grants the license modification with a FONSI (Finding Of No Significant Impact), Cape Canaveral could see a surge of Falcon 9 activity, which often sees two launches per week currently.

Conversely, a decision to proceed to a full EIS would extend the timeline and add further analysis layers, delaying the proposed expansion.

Background

Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), any major federal action that may significantly affect the environment requires an environmental review. SpaceX has applied for a modification to its existing FAA launch license to:

Increase the number of Falcon 9 launches at SLC‑40 from 50 to up to 120 per year.
Construct and operate a new first‑stage landing zone (LZ) at SLC‑40 capable of supporting up to 34 booster landings annually. This new landing zone would replace the current areas at LC-13 at CCSFS, Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2, which SpaceX has subleased while Vaya Space and also Phantom Space work towards their first launches on that site.

The FAA’s role is to evaluate potential environmental impacts of those actions—including noise, air quality, wildlife, cultural resources and socioeconomics—and to solicit public and agency comments before issuing a final determination: a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), a Mitigated FONSI, or a Notice of Intent to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Previous Talk Of Titusville Coverage:

• SpaceX Planning To Build A Landing Zone Near Their Launch Pad At SLC-40

• FAA Posts Draft Environmental Assessment For Increasing SLC-40 to 120 Falcon Launches A Year

• FAA Seeks Public Comment On Increasing Falcon 9 Flights From SLC-40

• FAA Reschedules Public Meeting For SpaceX SLC-40 Environmental Assessment

Draft EA Publication and Public Review Timeline

Draft EA Issued: March 14, 2025.
Original Public Comment Deadline: April 24, 2025.
First Virtual Meeting Scheduled: April 16, 2025
Rescheduled Virtual Meeting: May 8, 2025, 6:00–8:00 p.m. ET.
Extended Comment Deadline: May 15, 2025.

The FAA’s draft EA and associated notices were published in the Federal Register and in local outlets—including Florida Today and Hometown News as well as here at Talk of Titusville — and hard copies were deposited at area libraries in Brevard County.

SLC-40 Draft EA 91711 Download

The Virtual Public Meeting

The May 8 session was well attended and followed a structured agenda:

Opening Presentation by FAA facilitators, explaining NEPA, project scope, analysis methods and opportunities to comment.
Instructions for Commenting—attendees could provide verbal comments (recorded by a court reporter), or learn how to submit online via Regulations.gov (Docket FAA‑2025‑0114) or by mail to Ms. Eva Long at the FAA’s Reston address (address listed below)
Verbal comment session, with speakers called in the order of registration or hand-raising. Ground rules limited comments to three minutes each and reminded participants about public disclosure of any personal identifying information in their statements.

Roughly 30 – 40 stakeholders participated live, including local business owners, environmental interests, space industry representatives, and Brevard County officials.

The slide deck presented is available for review here:

92766 Presentation Download

Stakeholder Perspectives Shared

Local Residents & Environmental Advocates

In the meeting several speakers raised concerns about:

Noise impacts on nearby residential areas in Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island, requesting more analysis on cumulative effects of increased booster landings.
Marine life, particularly sea turtles and manatees, urging stronger mitigation—such as seasonal scheduling to avoid nesting periods.
Floodplain disturbance, questioning why alternative site footprints were not more fully evaluated.

Industry and Government
Representatives from Space Florida and Brevard County Tourism highlighted the economic benefits:

Workforce growth: Increased launch activity sustains skilled aerospace jobs locally.
Tourism draw: More frequent launches could bolster space‑coast viewing tourism.

A SpaceX liaison clarified technical details:

The new LZ design minimizes environmental footprint by using existing cleared areas and established utility corridors.
Noise modeling showed booster landing sonic booms are low‑intensity and would fall well within the thresholds for no hearing or structural damage beyond base boundaries.

Federal and Military Agencies
An official from Space Launch Delta 45 confirmed the policy shift requiring on‑site landings and noted that without a dedicated LZ at SLC‑40, SpaceX’s ability to support Department of Defense missions could be compromised after current off‑site permits expire in July 2025.

United Launch Alliance
ULA has submitted written comments, mainly concerning operational impacts and disruptions to operations at their adjacent launch pad, and also financial responsibility in the case of any damage caused by SpaceX activities.

You can read ULA’s comments in full here:

FAA-2025-0114-0012_attachment_1 Download

Have Your Say: How to Submit Additional Comments

Attendees and those who could not join were reminded that all substantive comments, whether verbal tonight, submitted online via Regulations.gov under Docket FAA‑2025‑0114, or mailed to:

Ms. Eva Long
FAA Environmental Specialist, c/o ICF
1902 Reston Metro Plaza
Reston, VA 20190

Submissions must be received or post‑marked by May 15, 2025 to be incorporated into the Final EA.

Next Steps and Timeline

May 15, 2025: Close of public comment period.
Summer 2025: FAA reviews all comments, works with resource agencies on mitigation commitments, and prepares the Final EA.
Late 2025 (estimated): FAA issues either a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or determines that a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required.
Post‑FONSI: If approved, SpaceX would apply for the license modification and move into detailed design and construction of the landing zone, subject to any mitigation conditions outlined in the FONSI.

Significance for the Space Coast

The outcome of this EA process carries considerable weight for:

Commercial spaceflight growth on the Eastern Range, as SpaceX remains the primary launch provider at SLC‑40.
Local economy, with potential for sustained or expanded aerospace employment, supply‑chain activity, and tourism revenue.
Environmental stewardship, given Florida’s sensitive coastal ecosystems and flood‑prone terrain.

Key Elements of the Proposed Action

Page 17 of the FAA’s May 9 presentation (link above).

1. Launch Cadence Increase
SpaceX seeks to more than double its annual Falcon 9 launches at SLC‑40, from 50 to as many as 120 per year. Also increased are static fires and booster landings based at SLC-40. This uptick supports both government (DOD, NASA) and commercial missions, aligning with national goals for assured access to space.

2. New Landing Zone Construction
Currently, Falcon 9 first stages from Eastern Range missions land on downrange drone ships or at landing zones 1 and 2 (formerly SLC‑13). Space Launch Delta 45 policy now requires commercial boosters to land co‑located with their launch pad. The proposed LZ would occupy about 4 acres adjacent to SLC‑40, clearing approximately 0.25 acres within a 500‑year floodplain and involving installation of gas lines, a pedestal and minimal new disturbance.

3. Related Airspace Closures
The FAA must also authorize temporary airspace restrictions to ensure public safety during launches and landings—another aspect under NEPA review.

Overview of Environmental Analyses

The EA examines numerous resource areas:

Noise: Time‑averaged sound from launches and static fire tests remains below FAA significance thresholds (65 dB A‑weighted Day‑Night sound level) beyond CCSFS and KSC boundaries. Sonic booms from standard trajectories occur over water; polar trajectory booms are not increasing above previously analyzed levels.
Air Quality & Emissions: Construction emissions and operational propellant burn were modeled using EPA‑approved methods and found to be minor.
Biological Resources: Consultations under the Endangered Species Act with USFWS and NMFS identified no new significant impacts to listed species; sonic boom impacts on critical habitat remain within prior assessed levels.
Cultural & Historic Resources: Section 106 coordination with the Florida State Historic Preservation Office and Tribal governments confirmed no adverse effects beyond already cleared conditions.
Floodplains & Wetlands: The limited encroachment into the floodplain triggered an explicit Finding of No Practicable Alternative (FONPA) under Executive Orders on floodplain management.
Socioeconomics & Land Use: Potential benefits include local job support for increased operations; land use changes remain confined within federal property.

Overall, the DRAFT EA concluded that neither the Proposed Action nor the No‑Action Alternative would cause individually or cumulatively significant environmental impacts—with recommended mitigation measures to be finalized in coordination with resource agencies.

May 6, 2025

Local News Coverage Of Alan Shepard’s Mercury-Redstone 3 Flight

*Liftoff of Mercury-Redstone 3, with Alan Shepard aboard, May 5, 1961. Photo: NASA*

Note: article was originally published by the author at Talk of Titusville.

Sixty-four years ago, the United States launched its first human being aboard a rocket. It was a tense time politically, and space flight was the new political football of the Cold War. The country’s pride had been injured by the Soviet Union’s accomplishing space feats before the US, but that day — May 5, 1961 — it was a day that restored pride and confidence in America’s capabilities as a nation. And it all happened here, of course, on the Space Coast.

Given that newspapers were leading source of coverage at that time, here’s a look at how one local writer covered the story.

May 5, 2025

Local News Coverage of Alan Shepard’s Flight On May 5, 1961

Liftoff of Mercury-Redstone 3, with Alan Shepard aboard, May 5, 1961

Sixty-four years ago, the United States launched its first human being aboard a rocket. It was a tense time politically, and space flight was the new political football of the Cold War. The country’s pride had been injured by the Soviet Union’s accomplishing space feats before the US, but that day — May 5, 1961 — it was a day that restored pride and confidence in America’s capabilities as a nation. And it all happened here, of course, on the Space Coast.

Tales have been told uncounted times of the flight from Alan Shepard and top NASA officials’ points of view. But what about the locals? How did they see this flight? Talk of Titusville dug back into the local evening newspapers of the time, The Cocoa Tribune and the Orlando Evening Star.

Stories in both newspapers spoke of how nearly everyone in Cocoa, Titusville and all the beaches more or less stopped what they were doing to watch the launch ascending from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. AM Radio was the preferred way to keep up with events for those watching in person, and the local stations were all too happy to provide moment by moment coverage.

Doug Dederer, One Of The First Local Reporters Covering Space

Newspaperman Doug Dederer set the scene for his coverage, which would be published the same day in the Cocoa Tribune. “Bobbing in a small craft a few hundred yards offshore myself and my companions waited patiently for the countdown to reach zero, Dederer began. “Our only communications were local radio stations who, at minus ten minutes, gave a running description of activities as reported at the press site.”

“I watched the missile belch smoke and flame in its tail. It appeared to hover over the pad, then steadily the pulsing engines, gulping tons of fuel and liquid oxygen in seconds, lifted the Mercury spaceraft higher and higher.””

“At launch,” Dederer said, “The tremendous surge of feeling, compounded by thousands of written words, hundreds of interviews and a score of months knowing this and the other astronauts burst loose.”

“Tears flowed unashemedly and I didn’t care,” he stated bluntly.

Those feelings have been repeated many, many times since then, probably with every crewed launch that has flown from the Cape. In a time when crewed launches seem routine, they never are and there is always someone who is seeing it all unfold for the first time. Tears of happiness flowed that day, and they will again, as soon as the next crewed launch.

Mercury Redstone 3 in flight.
Photo: NASA

Dederer’s vision cleared in time for him to note, “The sea was surprisingly calm after the week’s stormy weather and one could easily read “United States” on the 83-foot long rocket.”

“The Redstone arched slighly on the east-northeast heading over the coastline and over our seaborne position,” Dederer said. “It passed overhead at 4,000 feet bathed in the brilliance of a new sun and a new era in American spacemanship.”

It may be safe to venture a guess that watching that liftoff made bobbing on the water offshore from Cape Canaveral worthwhile.

Dederer went on to write for Today, now Florida Today. He also ran his own publication, the Surfside Slant, in Cocoa Beach. Sadly, he passed away in 1985 at the age of 58.

The Orlando Evening Star from May 5, 1961 was far more effusive in its coverage of Alan Shepard’s first flight

Back onshore and across the rivers in Cocoa, business had come to a standstill to watch the liftoff. The Tribune reported that “Employees – and bosses — of businesses suspended operation when radions reported the final countdown began to conquer their excitement and return to the normal routine of their daily lives.”

The Tribune further reported “crowds of people” gathered along the Indian River to watch, though it was not clear exactly where on the river that was. Today, launches from the Cape are best seen from southern Titusville or from the beaches of the Banana River and Cape Canaveral, and back then couldn’t have been any different.

One thing was clear, however: something truly historical and extraordinary had happened that day in 1961, and those who were there to see it in person realized that from the start.

Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 capsule is being picked up after its landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo: NASA

Perhaps the Orlando Evening Star put things best in its coverage from the day: “True, the Russians’ Yuri beat him to it but that erases no of the glory from Alan Shepard. And his fellow countrymen are no less proud.”

Simple by today’s standard, the Mercury capsule worked well for the first US forays into crewed spaceflight.
via NASA

May 3, 2025

New NASA Budget Proposal Will Hit The Space Coast Hard

It looks like hard times for the Space Coast’s local economy might be ahead.

The Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes a 24.3% reduction in NASA’s funding, decreasing the agency’s budget from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. This so-called “skinny” budget blueprint is a high level one short of full details, which will be forthcoming. After that, Congress will take up and begin debate on a budget bill.

This proposed significant cut threatens to eliminate key programs and could result in substantial job losses at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), a cornerstone of the Space Coast’s economy, and that will have ripple effects that everyone who lives here will feel.

Key Programs on the Chopping Block

The proposed budget aims to terminate NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion crew capsule after the Artemis III in 2027. SLS is currently integral to the Artemis initiative, which seeks to return humans to the Moon. The administration justifies these cuts by citing cost overruns and delays, noting that the SLS has cost approximately $23 billion since 2010 and about $4 billion per launch. In its place, commercial launch services will be employed, assuming they are ready to do so in two years time.

The policymakers and budget writers have a point: SLS is an incredibly expensive rocket years late and billions over budget before getting to the launch pad. If the program were to continue, SLS would continue to be very expensive, and for capabilities that commercial providers will match or exceed in the near term.

In addition to the SLS and Orion, the budget proposes eliminating the Gateway lunar station and the Mars Sample Return mission. These cuts would not only affect NASA’s long-term exploration goals but also disrupt international collaborations with agencies from Europe, Canada, and Japan.

Again, policymakers have a point: these are expensive programs that are optional, and their elimination will result in cost savings to the federal budget.

Conventional wisdom in space circles is that SpaceX’s Starship program will replace SLS, and will rely on Kennedy as one of SpaceX’s primary launch sites for the giant rocket still under development in Texas. SpaceX has already resumed construction on a Starship launch mount at LC-39A, and has also begun building facilities here to support the giant rocket. With those expansions will come new jobs as well as opportunities for local businesses to provide support. Around 600 new SpaceX jobs are projected for the Starship effort.

Blue Origin, with its lunar lander and nascent New Glenn rocket, will also presumably benefit, leading to more growth on their massive campus across from the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center. The currently have around 237 openings posted for Merritt Island, that out of 484 positions listed nationally.

SpaceX and Blue Origin aren’t the only two large aerospace companies with major facilities in the region, of course, and as military and commercial space continues to grow, employment opportunities grows with it. The Space Coast also has a healthy startup culture, and many of those companies are on the cusp of expansion in their own right.

That will offset some of the job losses locally in the short term.

Impact on Kennedy Space Center and the Space Coast

In fiscal year 2023, NASA activities in Florida supported 35,685 jobs and contributed $8.2 billion in economic output. The proposed budget cuts threaten to drastically lower this economic contribution.

Kennedy Space Center is a major economic driver on the Space Coast, Terminating the SLS would directly impact thousands of workers involved in the project. NASA will undoubtedly trim jobs, as will Jacobs and Bechtel, who employ hundreds at the center. Moreover, the ripple effects could extend to local businesses and suppliers that rely on NASA contracts.

The Space Coast has been through this before: in the 1970s after the Apollo program was ended and after the Space Shuttle program flew its last flight in 2011. Home prices tumbled due to local oversupply, local businesses and restaurants shuttered thanks to a drop in the number of customers coming through their door.

Concerns For Local Leaders and Experts

A local resident who works for NASA at the Cape, but didn’t want to share their name said yesterday that, “This will be like it was in the 70s after Apollo and fifteen years ago after the Shuttle. Home values dropped, and some people just left and let the bank foreclose their homes. It was ugly.”

Indeed, the conclusion of NASA’s Space Shuttle program in 2011 marked a significant turning point for Brevard County’s economy. The retirement of the shuttle led to the loss of approximately 7,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center alone, with estimates of up to 9,000 when including contractors and support staff.

This sudden unemployment surge pushed the county’s jobless rate to over 11%, far surpassing the state average at that time. Local businesses, from restaurants to retail stores, felt the ripple effects as disposable incomes dwindled. The housing market also suffered, with property values declining and foreclosures increasing. The economic downturn lingered for years until the rise of SpaceX, the arrival of Blue Origin and NASA’s Artemis Project.

Whether the cancelation of SLS affects the local economy as much as some fear remains to be seen. The Space Coast has diversified its economic base, but it is also still highly dependent on NASA and the military for its overall livelihood.

Titusville

Titusville, often called the “Gateway to Space,” bore the brunt of the Shuttle program’s end. The city’s economy, deeply intertwined with space exploration, faced significant challenges. Businesses shuttered and moved out, people moved away, and some say Titusville has never fully recovered.

Local schools saw decreased enrollment, home values plunged, and local tax revenues dropped precipitously, which, in turn, created issues that the city is dealing with to this day. Titusville has also grappled with an identity crisis, striving to redefine itself as being more than its space-centric legacy.

Efforts to attract new industries and promote tourism began after the Shuttle Era, but the transition has proven arduous and ongoing, especially given that tourism there is a harder sell than it is just twenty minutes down the road in Cocoa Beach. That’s because Titusville lost most of its beach access when the federal government seized Titusville Beach in the early 1960s to build the Kennedy Space Center in the first place. Payalinda Beach on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore is there, of course, but its location in a wildlife refuge has limited commercial growth.

On the industrial front, Titusville and the Space Coast region has a lot of what businesses look for: a business-friendly government, relatively low taxes, land available near multiple transportion options, and a skilled workforce that can fill jobs requiring technical skills.

The city is already seeing facility expansions and new factories being constructed; for example, Lockheed Martin is building a new facility that is expected to employ up to 300 people. Other major companies and facilities have come, some have gone belly up and others have stated plans to move here in the future.

Is America Really ‘Effectively Ceding Its Leadership In Space’?

Many industry experts have also expressed alarm over the proposed budget cuts, especially to NASA’s science budget. They argue that reducing NASA’s funding could have long-term detrimental effects on the nation’s space leadership and the economic well-being of communities like the Space Coast.

“The proposed cuts could plunge NASA into a dark age,” warns the Planetary Society, emphasizing the potential loss of scientific knowledge and international prestige.

“If enacted, these proposed cuts would demolish our space economy and workforce, threaten our national security and defense capabilities, and ultimately surrender the United States’ leadership in space, science, and technological innovation to our adversaries,” wrote the bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Planetary Science Caucus.

“We will work closely with our colleagues in Congress on a bipartisan basis to push back against these proposed cuts and program terminations and to ensure full and robust funding for NASA Science in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations,” the statement concluded.

That statement may well be representative of the response the NASA budget will receive on Capitol Hill. NASA receives widespread support, and while calls to streamline NASA will probably get a lot of support, eliminating projects like the Nancy Grace Roman space telescope will receive strong pushback.

Next Steps

The budget proposal is subject to approval by Congress, where it is expected to face significant scrutiny and potential revisions. Lawmakers from both parties have historically supported NASA’s missions and may push back hard against the proposed cuts to preserve the agency’s programs and the jobs they support. That remains to be seen.

As the budget process unfolds, stakeholders from the Space Coast and beyond will closely monitor developments and advocate for the preservation of programs they say are vital to the nation’s space exploration efforts and economic health. Others from here will point out the necessity for more austerity in the federal budget and that NASA, like all federal agencies, will have to shrink their budgets to accomplish that goal.

Where the chips all land is certainly going to be something to watch, but one thing is clear: things will be changing.

April 29, 2025

United Launch Alliance Atlas V Kuiper KA-01, April 28, 2025

Summer is nearly back on the Space Coast, with warm temperatures and a persistent threat of rain in the afternoon and evenings — typical weather here, and it will stay this way for several months. That being said, Atlas V was able to beat the weather last night and launched at the opening of its window, with liftoff at 7:01 PM ET after an apparently quiet countdown, save for some concerns about the energy potential of a nearby anvil cloud (Cumulonimbus incus) lingering near the launch pad before dissipating.