The flight path of Falcon 9 carrying the Starlink 6-63 mission to orbit this evening, as seen from the Mid Course Radar Site on Kennedy Parkway inside the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge near Allenhurst, Florida. This radar system tracks rockets as they launch. A full moon is in the background. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX launched another 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to orbit tonight from Kennedy Space Center, right at the end of the planned launch window. Liftoff was at 10:45 PM EDT from Pad LC-39A.
Booster B1077 completed its 13th mission successfully after it touched down on the droneship ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’ northeast of The Bahamas about 8.25 minutes after liftoff. JRTI will return to Port Canaveral after a few days, and the booster will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection, refurbishment and preparation for its next flight.
At 11:52 PM EDT, SpaceX announced that the payload had been successfully deployed, marking another 100% successful launch by the company.
Booster B1077.13 Record
SpaceXBooster B1077
Flight
Mission
Date
1
Crew-5
10/15/2023
2
GPS III SV06
01/18/2023
3
Inmarsat-6 F2
02/18/2023
4
Starlink Group 5-10
03/29/2023
5
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-28
06/05/2023
6
Galaxy 37
08/03/2023
7
Starlink Group 6-13
09/01/2023
8
Starlink Group 6-25
10/30/2023
9
Starlink Group 6-33
12/07/2023
10
Northrup Grumman NG-20
01/30/2024
11
Starlink Group 6-43
03/10/2024
12
Starlink Group 6-51
04/17/2024
13
Starlink Group 6-63
05/23/2024
Booster B1077 flights as of May 23, 2024
Launch Replay
Next Launch
Memorial Day, SpaceX plans to launch another set of satellites for Starlink Group 6. This launch is planned for the morning hours, one where Falcon 9 will travel the well-flown path to the southeast as it delivers more members of its low-Earth orbit constellation that provides Internet access to underserved markets.
Mission: Starlink 6-60
Date: NET May 27, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 07:30 AM – 11:30 AM EDT
Payload: 23 communications satellites
As of May 17, 2024. Subject to change without notice.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The flight path of Falcon 9 carrying the Starlink 6-63 mission to orbit this evening, as seen from the Mid Course Radar Site on Kennedy Parkway inside the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge near Allenhurst, Florida. This radar system tracks rockets as they launch. A full moon is in the background.
SpaceX launched another 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to orbit tonight from Kennedy Space Center, right at the end of the planned launch window. Liftoff was at 10:45 PM EDT from Pad LC-39A.
Booster B1077 completed its 13th mission successfully after it touched down on the droneship ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’ northeast of The Bahamas about 8.25 minutes after liftoff. JRTI will return to Port Canaveral after a few days, and the booster will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection, refurbishment and preparation for its next flight.
Falcon 9 Liftoff From LC-39A Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Lather, rinse, repeat: SpaceX plans to launch another Starlink Group 6 mission early this evening from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. The launch window opens at 6:45 PM EDT and extends until10:45 PM EDT the same day.
Update: SpaceX now has “Liftoff targeted for 10:13 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, May 24, starting at 6:26 p.m. ET.”
The booster used for the mission will land downrange on the droneship ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which is stationed northeast of The Bahamas, so there won’t be any sonic boom on the Space Coast tonight.
Payload
23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service. They are manufactured at SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington, are estimated to weigh 750-800 kg apiece and are about 3.0 meters (9.84 feet) long and 1.3 meters (3.94 feet) wide at liftoff. When a Starlink Mini V2 extends its solar panels, it is an estimated 98.5 feet in diameter.
Each Starlink satellite is equipped with a Argon-fueled Hall-effect thruster (HET) for maneuverability. Once the satellite’s useful lifetime concludes, SpaceX commands it to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, where it burns up safely and leaves no space junk behind.
Just like last night’s forecast for Starlink 6-62, weather is about as good as it gets this time of year on the Space Coast: the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force has forecast only a 5% chance of a weather-related range violation (POV), meaning that they expect a 95% chance for acceptable weather through the launch window. In the event of a scrub or launch delay, tomorrow, conditions are slightly less favorable, with a 90% percent chance of favorable conditions and a 10% Probability of Violation.
Via USSF 45th Weather Squadron
Sky Cover
The National Weather Center forecasts that roughly 5-15% of the sky will be covered by clouds during the launch window. These estimates are often somewhat pessimistic, can be hit-or-miss and in any case are highly local, but are interesting if you are planning to view the launch in person.
The bottom line is that this evening’s launch should not have many clouds interrupting a spectator’s view of the rocket as it flies to space.
Via National Weather Service
Trajectory
The Bimini Highway. Falcon 9 will take a southeasterly direction tonight towards The Bahamas, as has been customary for all Group 6 Starlink missions. Spectators looking in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean will see the rocket flying left to right.
Given that the flight is immediately offshore with no return to launch site, there will be no sonic boom from the launch on the Space Coast.
Booster
According to SpaceX’s Starlink 6-63 Mission page, “This is the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20, and six Starlink missions.”
That’s Booster B1077. This booster flew 36 days ago when it lofted the Starlink Group 6-51 mission.
SpaceXBooster B1077
Flight
Mission
Date
1
Crew-5
10/15/2023
2
GPS III SV06
01/18/2023
3
Inmarsat-6 F2
02/18/2023
4
Starlink Group 5-10
03/29/2023
5
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-28
06/05/2023
6
Galaxy 37
08/03/2023
7
Starlink Group 6-13
09/01/2023
8
Starlink Group 6-25
10/30/2023
9
Starlink Group 6-33
12/07/2023
10
Northrup Grumman NG-20
01/30/2024
11
Starlink Group 6-43
03/10/2024
12
Starlink Group 6-51
04/17/2024
Booster 1077 flight record as of April 17, 2024
Countdown Timeline
There are key events in the countdown that you may hear called out in launch coverage.
Remember that once Propellant Loading (T-minus thirty-eight minutes) starts, Falcon 9 is committed to the launch attempt. Because of the nature of the cryogenic fuels used to power the rockets, any hold precludes a later launch attempt the same day. While it only rarely happens, there have been occasions where that has happened, and a launch scrub is called for the day’s attempt.
SpaceX provides the following countdown milestones on their mission information page:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:38:00
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00
RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00
1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00
2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00
Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
00:01:00
Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00
Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03
Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00
Falcon 9 liftoff
Typical SpaceX countdown timeline is presented for information purposes only.
Timeline of Falcon 9 Flight
SpaceX has published a timeline of expected events during the mission:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:00:00
Liftoff
00:01:11
Max-Q (Moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:26
1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:30
1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:36
2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:56
Fairing deployment
00:06:09
1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:33
1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:59
1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:22
1st stage landing
00:08:41
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:08
2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:10
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:17
Starlink satellites deploy
via: SpaceX
All events up to the end of the 1st stage entry burn should be visible for launch spectators watching the launch in person, so long as clouds are not blocking the viewer’s line of sight. Fairing separation is generally only visible during daytime launches and then only using advanced optics like high-powered binoculars or a super-telephoto lens (500mm+).
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-63 This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about five minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Space Launch Schedule, an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play.
Launch Viewing: In Person
This evening’s planned launch is from LC-39A at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are the northern Titusville riverfront parks, one of the local businesses or Playalinda Beach:
The following restaurants will be open for the beginning of the launch window.
The Space Bar ($$$) – atop the Courtyard Marriott near Kennedy Parkway
New York New York ($$) – on the Indian River with an outdoor seating area. Is family-friendly.
Shiloh’s ($$$) — located on the Indian River with an outdoor deck overlooking KSC/CCSFS
Playalinda Beach
View From Playalinda Beach Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Playalinda Beach out on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore will be open to spectators, that is, if KSC Security and the National Park Service allow viewers for the launch. This varies from launch to launch, but as a general rule, they have allowed spectators to watch Starlink launches from the beach. You could be as close as 4.25 miles from the launch pad at liftoff.
Generally speaking, spectators have been allowed at Playalinda if the mission is not a national-security mission (for example, a National Reconnaissance Office payload) or a NASA mission. That’s not a certainty, however, and it would be wise to call ahead before making the trip out.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore Phone: 386 428-3384 x0
If you are going to Playalinda, and if it is open, remember:
Get there at least two hours early, or better, earlier than that. Lines are long at the entry gate and they will only allow as many spectator vehicles as there are parking space available.
If the launch L-0 time is moved to after 8PM, you must leave Playalinda, as the National Park Service is very strict about closing hours.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore has a fee to get in and cash is not accepted. Debit and credit cards are okay, or if you have one of the National Park Service’s passes for the Seashore or the National Parks, that will work as well.
Cellphone service is spotty at best and often non-existent at Playalinda. Don’t count on your cellphone to keep up with the launch; you might get a signal, or you might not.
You are not allowed to view from the pullouts on Beach Road. Stanchions will block them. You’ll have to park and go to the beach.
Refreshments are not available. There are no stores at Cape Canaveral National Seashore, so you’ll need to bring drinks and food if you want any while you’re there.
Rangers will keep you back a certain distance from the launch area. If the beach is open, you’ll still be unable to go down to the fence that demarcates the normal security zone. There’s a line that spectators can’t go past somewhat north of the fence. That’s for safety and security.
Other Viewing Locations
Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Pier, Jetty Park Pier will have indirect views, meaning that liftoff will not be visible, but after the rocket clears the pad and any ground obstructions, you will be able to see Falcon 9 ascending clearly assuming there are no clouds between you and the rocket.
Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on th
Late this evening, NASA released a statement to credentialed media saying that the oft-delayed Starliner Crewed Flight Test will not launch on May 25th as planned.
NASA, Boeing, and ULA are foregoing the Saturday, May 25 launch attempt for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The team has been in meetings for two consecutive days, assessing flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy. There is still forward work in these areas, and the next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed.
NASA will share more details once we have a clearer path forward.
This mission has been delayedseveral times after the first launch attempt was scrubbed on May 6, 2024 due to a faulty valve on the second stage of Atlas V. The rocket was taken off its launch pad and moved back to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility at SLC-41 where repairs were effected.
A Helium leak was discovered in the Starliner service module during that repair period, and mission managers have been apparently assessing the problem since then with no conclusion reached. There is no word — as of yet — as to whether Starliner will be de-stacked from the Atlas V rocket slated to carry it to orbit and the leaky seal repaired, or whether it will be deemed acceptable and the flight allowed to be launched with Starliner as-is.
That conclusion must be reached before a potential new launch date can be determined. If Starliner requires repair, it will likely take some time, likely best measured in weeks. If it is decided that the vehicle can fly as-is, there are potential launch dates on May 28, June 1 and 2, and June 5 and 6, 2024.
Falcon 9 lifts from the Eastern Range’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
One does not have to work in the space industry to know that the Eastern Range is a very busy place these days. Less than ten years ago, the gaps between rocket launches were often measured in weeks or months. For example, in 2016, there were 23 launches from the Space Coast, and only 16 in 2017.
Today, in 2024, there are often two or more orbital launches per week and sometimes as many as two in one day from the combined facilities of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. There were 73 launches from here in 2023, and as many as 111 could happen this year. As such, bottlenecks and competing priorities for launch times and resources are rising, leading Congress to possibly instruct the US Space Force to consider offloading some national security launches to other sites.
The House Armed Services Committee’s draft fiscal 2025 defense policy bill has an interesting requirement: to study the possibility of launching NSSL (national security) payloads from other ranges than Vandenberg SFB and Cape Canaveral SFS as soon as 2025. Remember that this is a draft of the bill in committee and that it has a long way to go before it becomes law if, indeed, Congress and the current Administration can agree on a budget in the first place.
Spaceports in the United States
There are some twenty spaceport-designated facilities in the US today. Only five of them are capable of supporting vertical rocket launches: the Eastern (Cape Canaveral / KSC) and Western (Vandenberg SFB) Ranges, Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex, Spaceport America near southeast of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and the combined areas of Wallops Island — Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. That in mind, the House committee’s draft bill says those sites must be considered for additional NSSL launches.
Western Range / Vandenberg SFB
SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Photo: SpaceX
SpaceX and United Launch Alliance already use this facility for many launches, with the frequency of those launches expected to rise drastically over the next few years. SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets into space from the Western Range by 2026, while ULA is working towards certification of the once-launched Vulcan for national security payloads that would include the Western Range as a launch point.
According to many reports, those plans—especially the SpaceX plans—are running into local opposition. The California Coastal Commission, a powerful agency in the State of California, and other environmental groups have questioned whether the planned increase should be allowed. This is an ongoing issue with no resolution in the foreseeable future.
Wallops Island
Rocket Lab Electron launching from Wallops Island Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Wallops Island is an active spaceport where Rocket Lab and Northrup Grumman have conducted orbital launches in recent years. Rocket Lab is building a new launch pad for its future Neutron reusable rocket. NG is working with Firefly Aerospace to create a new variant of the Antares rocket it inherited from its acquisition of Orbital Sciences in 2018. That rocket is set to fly as soon as 2025.
Wallops makes logical sense for additional NSSL work, especially when Neutron and Antares enter service. They also have the land to develop new launch pads for new customers, giving that site great growth potential.
Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska
Despite PSCA having the largest launch azimuth range of any spaceport in the US that can access high-inclination, polar, and sun-synchronous orbits between 59° and 110° inclination, the Pacific Spaceport Complex has been mainly a development site for startups — ABL and Astra have been its main users the past few years, to mixed results. Previous users have included Northrup Grumman, but the aerospace giant has not launched from the facility since 2011.
The site opened in 1998 and has hosted 31 launches. It has hosted Athena I, Minotaur IV, Astra Rocket, and the RS1 rockets, with one successfully orbiting: on 19 November 2021, Astra’s LV0007 rocket achieved orbit.
That may be partly due to the facility being in Alaska and the cool local climate: located near the Bering Sea, Kodiak summers are short and mostly cloudy, and winters are long, very cold, wet, windy, and partly cloudy. Rocket launches depend on calm weather with no rain or high winds at launch time, and there, PCSA may struggle even compared to the infamously capricious weather on the Eastern Range.
Adding to PCSA’s difficulties is its remote nature with little infrastructure in the region. No rail service connected to the mainland or interstate highways leaves air shipment and the seaport at Kodiak as the major shipping options available to PCSA.
Nevertheless, Kodiak could easily become an area that supports NSSL launches during seasons when the weather allows for them. The Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a corporation owned by the state Government of Alaska, has been working diligently to attract new clients to its facilities, and in many ways, PCSA ticks many boxes for becoming a larger player in the launch business.
Spaceport America
With cities like Amarillo, Lubbock and even Dallas / Ft. Worth to the east and Albequerque to the north, orbital launches from Spaceport America seem to be a long way away.
Spaceport America is interesting because it has not been the launch site for any orbital attempts since its inception in 2011. The site in southern New Mexico is landlocked, meaning that early flight would be over land and possibly people and populated areas, leaving persons and property potentially exposed to the aftermath of a launch failure—namely, components from the rocket crashing down on them or potentially unburned toxic propellants descending from a failed rocket.
Virgin Galactic is a tenant at Spaceport America. Photo: Virgin Galactic
“I’m disappointed in is that the Space Force and others are very focused on the Cape and Vandenberg and Wallops,” said Scott McLaughlin, executive director of Spaceport America, in an interview published in February 24th by spacenews.com. “There’s no emphasis on making launches safe enough to fly over humans. I think that’s a natural progression and it just doesn’t seem to be on anybody’s radar right now.”
Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has 99.4% success rate, with 343 full successes out of 345 launches over 14 years of service. One failure was during static fire testing, and probably should not be counted, given the rocket never left the launch pad. The one in-flight failure Falcon 9 did have was explosive, meaning that shrapnel and uncombusted fuel from the second stage and payload were not contained and fell into the sea after the launch failure.
That would naturally be a major concern for everyone downrange, and while the chances of another failure happening are quite remote, clearing Falcon 9 for overland flight would be a major political sticking point with an uncertain path to approval — especially when safer areas like the Eastern Range, Western Range, Kodiak and Wallops do not have those worries.
Other rockets, like the soon-to-be-retired Atlas V and the once-flown Vulcan (both United Launch Alliance products), also do not have any contingencies for launch failures over populated areas other than to self-destruct before such an event occurs. The same is true for Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket. Nor does New Glenn, Blue Origin’s long-awaited orbital rocket.
In short, no modern rocket in the West is designed to have the capability to fly over populated areas safely, meaning that barring a political sea change or technological advances not yet on the drawing boards, Spaceport America is likely to be many years, if not a decade or more, away from supporting orbital flight.
RIP Spaceport Camden
Camden, Georgia, was an area considered by NASA in the late 1950s and early 1960s when it sought to build the facility that eventually became the Kennedy Space Center, and civic boosters and entrepreneurs have worked to make Camden a working launch site since that time.
After it accepted an Environmental Impact Statement, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a launch site operator license for Spaceport Camden with a flight trajectory limited to a 100-degree azimuth. It was planned to be a vertical launch facility, but voters scuttled the idea in 2022 in a spending referendum, effectively ending the current efforts to bring the area only as a potential orbital rocket spaceport. For now, Spaceport Camden as an option is dead.
The “800 Lb. Gorilla” Not Mentioned
Interestingly, the House committee did not mention another active spaceport as a potential site for NSSL launches: SpaceX’s facility at Boca Chica, Texas, where it is currently building and testing its huge Starship Heavy rocket.
SpaceX has conducted suborbital test launches from Boca Chica, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Once Starship becomes operational, it could easily support NSSL launches from Boca Chica, so long as the supported azimuths from the facility match the mission profile of the payload. SpaceX could even add a Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch pad to the site if it had the mind to and enough land to work with. This does not appear to be the case at this time, and perhaps that is the reason the House committee did not mention Boca Chica.
Azimith Limited: Two paths from Boca Chica would would avoid overflight of most far downrange landmasses, though they may also require performance reducing “dogleg” maneuvers to avoid other landmasses and achieve proper orbit. The red areas show previous Falcon 9 drop zones. Cape Canaveral can accommodate a much more diverse set of launch inclinations without overflying populated areas.
The Space Coast could see up to three launches this week: two Starlink launches from SpaceX, and if mission managers accept the current state of Boeing’s Starliner, at long last, the first crewed launch of the vehicle. Here’s a look at the schedule as it currently stands on Monday, May 20, 2024:
Wednesday, May 22: Starlink 6-62
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9, Block 5
Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 10:33 PM – 02:33 AM EDT
Payload: 23 Starlink Satellites
Booster Return To Launch Site: No
There has been a steady stream of Starlink Group 6 launches over the past several months, and this is another one of them. While the mission may be similar to many other recent launches, every rocket launch is slightly different and worth viewing, so despite the apparent lather-rinse-repeat nature of a Starlink launch by SpaceX, it will be worth viewing.
Photo: Ed Cordero / Florida Media Now
Thursday, May 23: Starlink 6-63
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9, Block 5
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 06:45 PM – 10:45 PM EDT
Payload: 23 Starlink Satellites
Booster Return To Launch Site: No
This launch may be interesting, especially if it launches at the beginning of the window or if it is pushed back into the twilight hours of early evening.
If it launches close to the beginning of the planned launch window in the golden light of late afternoon, it will be a gorgeous sight to see, with the rocket illuminated by the yellowish light of the last part of daytime. Playalinda Beach should be open to viewers during that time. Remember that Playalinda has a hard closing time of 8 PM, so if the launch is delayed past then, you will have to leave and find another spot to watch.
No launch provider plans liftoff based on spectators, however, so if either of those things happens, it will be because SpaceX mission managers have decided that Falcon 9 is ready for flight. That’s as it should be, as spaceflight is not an entertainment business.
Photo: NASA, via livestream
Saturday, May 25: Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test
Organization: United Launch Alliance, Boeing, NASA
Rocket: ULA Atlas V
Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 3:09 PM EDT. Instantaneous window
Payload: Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams
Booster Return To Launch Site: No
This is the most tenuous launch planned for the week. This mission has been delayedseveral times after the first launch attempt was scrubbed on May 6, 2024 due to a faulty valve on the second stage of Atlas V. The rocket was taken off its launch pad and moved back to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility at SLC-41 where repairs were effected.
A Helium leak was discovered in the Starliner service module during that repair period, and at the time of this writing, mission managers are evaluating the leak (it is within tolerances) to decide if it is acceptable for flight. Sometime during the week, the results of the analysis will be announced by NASA and Boeing, and the launch schedule for Starliner will become clearer.
If the launch proceeds as scheduled, northern viewpoints in Titusville will be best for spectators if they are not on-site at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center. Playalinda will be closed to spectators as this is a northeastward launch with crew.
Schedule Shifts Possible
Several factors affect launch dates and times: weather, technical readiness and range availability.
There is an old saying in the spaceflight industry: “Hundreds of thousands of things have to go right for their to be a launch, but only one has to go wrong for there to be a scrub.” That and “It’s better to be on the ground fixing a problem rather than wishing you were on the ground fixing a problem.”
In other words, no one launches unless they are certain they are ready. That means scrubs and schedule shifts are very possible, and anyone planning to watch a launch, either in person or online, should be prepared for launch times and shifts. It’s the nature of the business.
You can keep up with the general launch schedule here at Talk of Titusville, as we pass along schedule changes as soon as we know them. On launch day, the launch company’s website is the official source of information and there are several YouTube and X.com streams available that will give you the latest information.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
There is a period of time when the sun has just set where conditions are perfect to illuminate a rocket high in Earth’s atmosphere as it ascends while it is nearly dark down on the ground where people are watching.
Conditions have to be perfect for this to happen: skies need to be relatively clear between you and the rocket, the Sun can’t be blocked by clouds between it and the rocket and it has to happen at just the right time of day. All that came together tonight here on the Space Coast, giving spectators a spectacular “jellyfish” that was the best in about two years. Rare indeed.
A SpaceX Starship on its launch pad in Texas Photo: SpaceX
The public will have their opportunity to learn more about the Environmental Impact Statement that is getting underway for SpaceX’s plant to launch its Starship rocket from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
During those meetings, people can learn more about the proposed activity in an open house information station format, where the FAA will provide information describing the purpose of the scoping meetings, project schedule, opportunities for public involvement, Proposed Action and alternatives summary, and environmental resource area summary. The meetings will not be hearings, instead, they are designed to provide information.
Meeting Information
June 12, 2024, 2pm-4pm and 6pm-8pm (Eastern) IN-PERSON Radisson Cape Canaveral, Jamaica Room 8701 Astronaut Blvd Cape Canaveral, FL 32920
According to today’s press relase, “The FAA invites interested agencies, organizations, Native American Tribes, and members of the public to submit comments to inform the FAA on the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS (e.g., range of actions, alternatives, environmental impacts). The public scoping period starts with the publication of the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS in the Federal Register. To ensure sufficient time to consider issues identified during the public scoping period, comments should be submitted by one of the methods listed below no later than June 24, 2024. All comments will receive the same attention and consideration in the preparation of the EIS.”
“Comments, statements, or questions concerning scoping issues must be identified with the Docket Number FAA-2024-1395 and may be provided to the FAA as follows:
Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Retrieve the docket by conducting a search for “FAA-2024-1395” and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Please note that the FAA will post all comments on the Internet without changes, including any personal information provided.
By U.S. mail to Ms. Eva Long, FAA Environmental Protection Specialist, c/o Leidos, 2877 Guardian Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.”
SpaceX Starship lifting off on the IFT-2 test from Boca Chica Texas.
Photo: Richard P. Gallagher, Florida Media Now
The Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and other parties have published a notice of intent to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for SpaceX Starship launches from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, where it anticipates up to forty-four launches and landing at the facility.
A partially completed tower for those launches already stands at LC-39A, but construction was seemingly halted several months ago, and the launch pad was not finished. Now, it appears that plans are still very much active not only to launch Starship from Pad LC-39A, but also potentially from SLC-37 or a new launch pad, SLC-50, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. An Environmental Impact Statement for the potential Cape Canaveral facility is already underway, with the initial public information portion already concluded. The draft for that study is expected late this year.
This Notice provides information to Federal, State, and local agencies; Native American tribes; and other interested persons regarding the FAA’s intent to prepare an EIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing a commercial launch Vehicle Operator License to SpaceX for the Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. SpaceX proposes to construct launch, landing, and other associated infrastructure at and in proximity to LC-39A. The proposal would also include Starship-Super Heavy launches at LC-39A; recoverable Super Heavy booster and Starship landings at LC-39A or on a droneship; and expendable Super Heavy booster and Starship landings in the ocean.
Starship tower under construction in 2022
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
At this time, there has been no statement from any party as to whether this new EIS will affect the plans for the potential Starship facility being studied for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It could be one or the other, or most likely, both, given the high cadence of launches that SpaceX is planning for Starship.
Talk of Titusville contacted media officials at Kennedy Space Center regarding the timeline of the EIS, but they have not responded as of this time. Generally, an EIS period is between 6-12 months, but whether that is the case with the Starship EIS remains to be seen.
What Is An Environmental Impact Statement?
“The environmental impact statement (EIS) is a government document that outlines the impact of a proposed project on its surrounding environment. In the United States, these statements are mandated by federal law for certain projects. Environmental impact statements are meant to inform the work and decisions of policymakers and community leaders.”
“In the United States at the federal level, an EIS is a report mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), to assess the potential impact of actions “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” This requirement under NEPA does not prohibit harm to the environment, but rather requires advanced identification and disclosure of harm. Examples include building, clean-up, and infrastructure projects. But the NEPA mandate is broader. Development projects that constitute major federal action, as defined by law, including those that use federal land, federal tax dollars, or are under federal agency jurisdiction, are required to assess the impact of a proposed project on the physical, cultural, and human environments affected by the proposed project. “
Additionally, “SpaceX now proposes to construct additional launch infrastructure not previously contemplated in the 2019 EA: a Super Heavy booster catch tower, a natural gas liquefaction system and air separation unit for propellant generation, and stormwater/deluge ponds. SpaceX also proposes to launch an advanced design of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicle (up to nine raptor engines for Starship and up to 35 raptor engines for the Super Heavy booster), operate at a projected higher launch tempo (up to 44 launches per year), and land the Super Heavy booster at LC-39A in support of its reusability concept. Starship landings are no longer proposed to occur at Landing Zone 1 at CCSFS.”
Accompanying propellant storage and distribution pipelines would also need to be constructed, especially if the launch cadence cited in the notice comes to pass. That, and SpaceX will need to construct fabrication, storage and refurbishment facilities for both the booster (the “Super Heavy” first stage) and the Starship, the now-familiar spacecraft that at first glance resembles a rocket from a 1950’s science fiction film.
Altogether, that would mean a lot of construction, along with the personnel to do the work. Afterward, a substantial number of people would also need to launch and maintain the Starship systems. All told, this could lead to significant economic activity on the Space Coast.
Starship At a Glance
Starship in flight in 2023. Photo by Richard Gallagher / Florida Media Now
Currently under development near Brownville, Texas, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. According to SpaceX, it will be fully reusable, and capable of lifting 150 tons of payload to orbit in a reusable configuration, and 250 tons when it is configured as a conventional expendable rocket.
Current Starship designs are 397 feet tall, and 29.5 feet in diameter, producing some 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
By comparison, the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo Program were 362 feet tall, and produced 7.6 million pounds of thrust. By any measure, Starship is a huge rocket with immense power, and its launches and returns will be heard across the Space Coast.
Similar to how SpaceX Falcon 9 completes in many of its launches today, the Starship booster would return to land at its launch site when its task for the mission has been completed. Unlike Falcon 9, which lands at a landing area close by, Starship would return to its pad, where it would be grappled by “chopsticks” as it completed its final approach.
Starship is planned to be a fully reusable vehicle, meaning that its second stage (often simply called “the ship” in SpaceX parlance) would reenter and return to land at its launch pad using the same chopsticks as the booster.
Starship is still somewhat early in its development, with three test launches so far, and a fourth on the plate for the next few weeks. Along with SLS, it is a vehicle integral to Project Artemis, this time in the role of being the Human Landing System. HLS is where astronauts will land, live and work on the lunar surface, with the forward plan being for extended stays.
NASA rendering of the Artemis Human Landing System — a Starship variant — on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA
2024 Document
You can read the notification document released today in the Federal Register (original link is above) from the link below:
Artist’s rendition of Dream Chaser Tenacity on orbit. Graphic: Sierra Space
The maiden flight of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser is a step closer to happening, according to a statement released by the company today. In a press release, Sierra said that that Tenacity — the first flight model of Dream Chaser– ashieved “the successful completion of a rigorous environmental test suite on the Dream Chaser spaceplane, at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.”
“Successful completion of an incredibly rigorous environmental testing campaign in close partnership with NASA is a significant milestone and puts Dream Chaser on track for operations later this year,” said Sierra Space CEO, Tom Vice. “This is the year that we transition from rigorous research and development to regular orbital operations and – in doing so – transform the way we connect space and Earth.”
Dream Chaser Tenacity Photo: Sierra Space
Tenacity underwent shock, vibration, and thermal vacuum testing at Armstrong to verify its abilities to withstand the rigors of ascent aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan-Centaur rocket, as well as on-orbit operations after separation from the rocket that boosted it to orbit. The testing took several months and was recently completed, leading to the company’s announcement today.
Sierra Space said that, “The two vehicles were then stacked in launch configuration on the world’s most powerful spacecraft shaker table inside the test center’s Mechanical Vibration Facility. Sine vibration testing – conducted over a five-week period – simulated the intense conditions and environment of a launch on a Vulcan Centaur rocket.”
“After vibe testing concluded, the teams conducted another shock test – this time with the flight separation system between Dream Chaser and Shooting Star – to simulate the dynamic environment during separation of the two vehicles prior to de-orbit and re-entry.”
They added, “Next, the Sierra Space and NASA test teams transported the vehicles to the In-Space Propulsion Facility at Armstrong for thermal vacuum or “T-VAC” testing.
“Temperatures in space can range from the extremely cold – hundreds of degrees below freezing – to several hundred degrees Fahrenheit due to radiation from the sun. TVAC testing is a realistic thermal simulation of the flight environment and critical to ensuring mission success,” Sierra said.
“For more than five weeks, Dream Chaser and Shooting Star were subjected to multiple cold-hot cycles in a vacuum environment, between -150F to +250F, with teams conducting functional tests at temperature plateaus to verify system performance. “
Next, Tenacity will be transported to the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at Kennedy Space Center for integration and further preparations for launch. According to Sierra, “Remaining work on the thermal protection system will also be completed there.”
A Blue Origin BE-4 being mated to ULA’s second Vulcan Rocket, dubbed CERT-2 in April, 2024 Photo: Tory Bruno on X.
After those steps are completed, the launch campaign can begin in earnest. Sierra Space says that they remain on track for a 2024 launch of Tenacity, and for their part of the mission, United Launch Alliance is finishing assembly of the Vulcan-Centaur rocket that will deliver Tenacity to orbit.
If successful, this second flight will complete Vulcan’s certification for Department of Defense payloads, giving the mission additional importance above and beyond Dream Chaser’s debut. Currently, the launch is slated for late Q3 or early Q4 of this year.
Vulcan CERT-1 launching earlier this year. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Challenges For A South Texas Spaceport.pdf
You must be logged in to post a comment.