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SpaceX, NASA IMAP Rideshare, September 24, 2025
SpaceX Proposes Starship Flying Over Florida After Launching From Texas
SpaceX has proposed new launch trajectories for Starship Superheavy flights launching from Boca Chica, Texas. One new corridor is on a path taking it west of Cuba and northeast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The other will be far more controversial: directly over the Florida peninsula.
The Document
You can view or download the document below:
Air Operations
Rocket launches are, of course, high-risk operations. If a rocket fails in flight, debris can fall to the ground in an uncontrolled manner, potentially damaging property and causing injuries.
SpaceX has thus far done a spectacular job in terms of public safety, but at the same time, the chances of a vehicle failure at the wrong time are never nil.
Another effect is an interruption to air operations:
Integrating the Florida overflight Starship-Super Heavy launch operations and Super Heavy booster landings into the NAS from Boca Chica would require the FAA to conduct ground stops commensurate with the timing of the AHA and the miles in trail (distance between aircraft) for spacing and volume control as well as rerouting aircraft around the AHA. Due to the length of the launch and Super Heavy booster landing AHAs, certain flights, especially international, may elect to delay the departure time due to the inability to accept a reroute caused by fuel constraints or the flight time of the reroute.
According to the NAS assessment, the average expected flight delay for launches would last approximately 40 minutes and could last up to two hours. General aviation operations would be similarly impacted by the launch and Super Heavy booster landing AHAs; however, general aviation operations typically have more flexibility for flight planning than commercial flights, due to the nature of connecting commercial flights.
The FAA
In many travel scenarios, making connections at a hub destination like Atlanta, Charlotte and other is already challenging and may be all but impossible when there are unpredictable delays in Orlando, Tampa, Miami and other major airports.
No remediations were proposed, despite the costs of ground interruptions and flights being rerouted would create for airlines and ultimately, the fare-paying public who would ultimately bear the additional costs, not to mention the inconvenience of the time delays.
The FAA’s Conclusion?
The 2022 PEA and April 2025 Tiered EA examined the potential for significant environmental impacts from Starship-Super Heavy launch operations at the Boca Chica Launch Site and defined the regulatory setting for impacts associated with Starship-Super Heavy. The areas evaluated for environmental impacts in this Tiered EA include aviation emissions and air quality; noise and noise-compatible land use; hazardous materials; and socioeconomics. In each of these areas, the FAA has concluded that no significant impacts would occur as a result of the Proposed Action.
The FAA
The FAA will hold a virtual public meeting on the Draft Tiered EA on October 7, 2025 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm ET. You must register to attend, and you will need Zoom as well:
- Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a3uzXQcxT8OuGfynVNR8aQ. - Dial-in phone number: 888-788-0099 (Toll Free)
- Webinar ID: 839 4907 3824,
- Passcode: 872427.
During the virtual public meeting, the FAA will provide a pre-recorded presentation during the first half hour of the public meeting. The public can provide oral comments for up to three minutes during the virtual public meeting.
Jim Lovell Passes Away At 97
Photo: NASA
Captain James A. “Jim” Lovell Jr., the NASA astronaut who commanded the the Apollo 13 mission and became a symbol of courage and ingenuity, died Thursday at the age of 97 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Lovell’s death was confirmed by family members.
Born March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio, Lovell logged more than 700 hours in space over four missions. His calm under pressure during Apollo 13—immortalized by the phrase “Houston, we’ve had a problem”—cemented his place in history. Lovell was, as one former NASA engineer told us, “a cool customer.”
Seventy-Five Years Ago, The First Rocket Launched At Cape Canaveral
Photo: US Army
Tempus fugit, a lot of clocks say: “time is fleeting.” For a facility as established and enduring as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, it might seem like forever since the first rocket launched from here. Time has flown and so have thousands of rockets and missiles from America’s premier spaceport. Truth is, CCSFS has been open “only” 75 years, but it continues to have a bright future not only today but also for the long-term future.
SpaceX Crew Dragon, Axiom Space Ax-4, June 25, 2025
After several delays, Axiom 4 is on its way to the International Space Station. The corporate mission, commanded by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, lifted off at 2:31 AM Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon.
In addition to Whitson, Shubhanshu Shukla, an officer in the Indian Air Force and astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists include Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a project astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA) representing Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Notably, this mission marks the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will visit the ISS, representing each nation’s first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years.
United Launch Alliance Atlas V, Kuiper KA-02, June 23, 2025
Under clear, hot skies this morning, United Launch Alliance launched one of their fifteen remaining Atlas V rockets carrying 27 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Launch was at 6:54 AM from LC-41 at Cape Canaveral and by all appearances, it was a nominal flight for the veteran rocket. This was the 103rd launch for the venerable rocket. The first Atlas V launch was on August 21, 2002.
SpaceX, Falcon 9, GPS III-7, May 30, 2024
Between Storms, SpaceX Launches GPS III-7 Aboard Falcon 9
It was a typical summer’s day here on the Space Coast: at first, sunny and warm, humid with an ever-present threat of a thunderstorm lingering off in the distance.
An hour and a half before today’s launch, while the countdown clock was ticking towards T-0, the skies made good on their threat of a thunderstorm, with plenty of lightning strikes and heavy showers near Space Launch Complex 40, where the GPS III-7 satellite, also known as SV-08, waited atop Falcon 9 for liftoff just before the end of the launch window at 1:38 PM Eastern Time.
The Roar of Progress: BYU’s Studies on SpaceX’s Starship Acoustics
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.
Photo: BYU
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.”
“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.
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.
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.
In the document above, the FAA lays out its noise metrics that will be considered for the ongoing EIS.
Soviet Venus Lander Will Come Crashing Back To Earth This Weekend
After more than five decades in orbit, a relic from the first space race is making an unexpected return. Kosmos 482, a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 on a failed mission to Venus, is projected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between May 9 and May 11, 2025. Experts are closely monitoring its descent, as the probe’s durable construction raises the possibility that parts of it could survive reentry and reach the Earth’s surface.
Photo: NASA
The lander has a titanium shell and shielding that could allow it to withstand reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. That seems almost likely, given that the descent module of Kosmos 482 was made to travel through Venus’s much denser atmosphere all the way to the surface of Earth’s “evil twin.” If the lander survives intact, it could slam into the ground at speeds up to 150 mph. While chances are rated as low as being struck by lightning, there is a higher than zero chance that the spacecraft could land on Florida.
Photo: Sputnik
Kosmos 482 is in its final days and space and will enter the Earth’s atmosphere and crash back on our home planet sometime this week. In an interview with NPR, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard and The Smithsonian, Dr. Jonathon McDowell, played down the chances of it doing so on land, saying “It’s more likely that it will splash down in a body of water than land on the ground, says Jonathan McDowell.
“There’s a not-trivial chance that it could hit somewhere where it damages property, and there’s a small chance — but it’s like one in thousands — that it could hurt someone,” he told NPR’s All Things Considered.
Dr. McDowell is spot-on: the Earth is mostly covered by water, and the chances of any particular spot on the Earth is the ultimate landing area are quite small indeed.
Dr. Marco Langbroek, a noted lecturer of Space Situational Awareness at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of Delft Technical University in the Netherlands stated on X.com today that “Our newest TUDAT reentry model results for the Kosmos 482 Descent Craft, the lander of a 53-year-old failed Soviet Venus probe [yields the] current forecast: 10 May 7:34 UTC +/- 14 hours.” His organization also showed the path of the probe during that time period, saying that it could re-enter anywhere along the lines in the graphic above.
While the chances are infinitesimally small that Kosmos 482 re-enters during its pass over southern Florida and the metro-Dade area during that time period, the chances are also more than zero and as such are interesting.
A Failed Mission…
Kosmos 482 was launched on March 31, 1972, as part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious Venera program aimed at exploring Venus. The spacecraft was intended to deliver a lander to the Venusian surface, collecting data on the planet’s atmosphere and geology. However, a malfunction in the launch vehicle’s upper stage prevented the probe from escaping Earth’s orbit.
Only four spacecraft have ever returned images from Venus’ surface. These photos were taken by the USSR’s Venera 10.
Photo: Roscosmos
As a result, Kosmos 482 was stranded in a highly elliptical orbit, where it has remained ever since. Since its launch, 482 has looped around the planet for 53 years, but at the perigee (lowest point) of each of those orbits, it has encountered friction from the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere. That in turn has slowed Kosmos 482 slightly, and over time, it’s apogee (highest point) in orbit has steadily decreased. Now, the orbit is so low that re-entry is inevitable.
The spacecraft’s main bus reentered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated shortly after launch, but the lander module—designed to withstand the extreme conditions of Venus’s atmosphere—remained intact and continued orbiting Earth. Weighing approximately 495 kilograms (1,091 pounds), the lander is built with a robust titanium shell and heat-resistant materials, making it particularly resilient to the intense heat and pressure of atmospheric reentry — exactly what it was designed to do.
Tracking the Descent
Predicting the exact time and location of Kosmos 482’s reentry is challenging due to various factors, including atmospheric conditions and solar activity. The potential impact zone spans a wide area between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south latitude, encompassing regions from Canada to South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Kosmos 482 will fall somewhere, but again, it is almost certainly going to be into one of Earth’s oceans and not on anyone’s home or head.
Dr. McDowell noted that while the risk of injury or property damage is minimal, it is not zero. He compared the odds of being hit by debris from Kosmos 482 to those of being struck by lightning.
Potential Outcomes
The lander’s design, intended to survive the harsh environment of Venus, means it could endure reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. If it does, the module could impact the surface at speeds up to 150 miles per hour (242 kilometers per hour). However, some experts suggest that the heat shield may have degraded over time, increasing the chances of the spacecraft burning up during reentry.
There have been reports of a parachute-like structure trailing the lander, possibly deployed during the initial mission. While intriguing, experts believe that even if the parachute is intact, it is unlikely to function effectively after decades in space, given that it will depend on long-depleted battery systems to function.
While the chances of this old spacecraft landing on any given spot in Florida is about the same as winning the lottery, it is worth keeping an eye on Kosmos 482 if for no other reason than it is the end of an interesting historical relic.
SpaceX, Falcon 9, Bandwagon-3, April 21, 2025
Summer thunderstorms have yet to arrive on the Space Coast this year, but there were rumbles and roars a-plenty yesterday on the Eastern Range. First, in the wee hours, SpaceX launched CRS-32 from KSC, and its booster landed at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Then, after sunset, the company completed another RTLS Falcon 9 launch, this time from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 8:48 PM ET.
Eight minutes and seven seconds after liftoff, Booster B1090 completed its third flight successfully at Landing Zone 2 on the site of the former Launch Complex 13.
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