The world’s thickest rocket may start flying more.
U.S. regulators have completed a critical environmental review that paved the way for SpaceX to become more than twice the number of Falcon 9 launches at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida.
In addition to an annual launch from 50 launches to 120 years, the Federal Aviation Administration Environmental Review has approved a new on-site landing area that can accommodate up to 34 booster landing areas per year. These boosters are the reusable first phase part of the Falcon 9 rocket, which ejects future flights.
The comment, completed Wednesday, found so-called “discovery without significant impacts”, meaning the proposed changes “do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment” and that the impact will be reduced by specific protections under federal law.
These include additional environmental permits before building a new facility, the use of turtle-friendly lighting at night, and a pre-construction survey of Scrub-Jay and Eastern Indigo Snake snake populations in Florida to ensure wildlife conservation.
Regarding water management, the review concluded that this is extremely unlikely for industrial wastewater, especially the large amount of water discharged by the flood system during the launch – draining it into nearby waters.
During the liftoff, the flood system sprayed a lot of water on the launch pad to absorb heat and sound from the rocket engine. At the SpaceX Zodiac Launch Field in Texas, environmental groups sued local regulators to get the company to drain industrial wastewater from PAD.
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Wednesday’s environmental approval is only one step in the process. SpaceX still needs the FAA to formally modify its launch license to allow for higher release numbers. Since the launch plate is located on the Space Force property, the Air Force Department must also approve the changes.
The approval paves the way for SpaceX to continue its trend of upgrading its Falcon 9 launch. In recent years, the launch frequency has increased sharply, from 60 launches per year in 2022 to 132 in 2024.
Even the world’s most center of gravity, SpaceX still has a crowded list. It is launched for commercial customers, the Department of Defense and its own Starlink Internet satellite. Increased emissions should alleviate this bottleneck. Dedicated landing areas may also shorten booster turnover, as the company does not need to land boosters frequently on drone ships.
The decision is part of SpaceX’s increasingly broad multi-site push to increase its launch pace. The company also hopes to expand on the West Coast, with plans to launch up to 100 falcons each year from California’s Van Denberg Space Force Base. Meanwhile, regulators have reviewed a proposal that will allow departures from Texas and Florida, a large rocket designed by SpaceX for missions to the moon and Mars.
