SpaceX to take over ULA's launchpad in Florida for launching Starship, NASA is shocked!

wow three launch complexes four launch pads is what SpaceX is about to get for Starship one might wonder if there's any private space company in the world's Aerospace industry capable of doing the same of course not and SpaceX is unique so in addition to the launch complex at Starbase and lc-39a what new launch complex will SpaceX own for Starship why is SpaceX doing this and what impact will it have on starship's future development let's find out this and More in today's episode of alphatech the SpaceX Starship program is rapidly advancing beyond our imagination with bustling activities at Starbase and continuous Supply and production of Rocket Hardware SpaceX scale is extremely large naturally to serve this the company's imperative requirement is to provide additional launch facilities simply put we can understand that two to three launch Towers will certainly not be enough to meet the demands of Starship recently information about space xx's possibility of expanding its footprint to one of the largest launchpads at Cape canaval space force station space launch complex 37 SL c37 is gaining more attention than ever the history of SL 37 dates back to the 1960s when NASA used this site for eight launches of Saturn 1 and Saturn 1B Rockets as part of the Apollo program preparations this facility remained inactive for 30 years until Boeing took over and prepared SLC 37 for Delta 4 Rock ETS which have since been launched 34 times from there in the coming time Ula still has one more Delta 4 heavy rocket launch schedules from SL 37 in March afterward Ula will conduct operations at SLC 37 and ultimately transfer the facility to the space force to seek new tenants within a few months industry sources have indicated that SpaceX is the leading candidate to take over SLC 37 once Ula completes its operations this place having hosted launches for more than and half a century will probably have the least impact on the environment the Launchpad currently consists of a 330t 100 met mobile Gantry a fixed service Tower a fixed umbilical Tower and a flame trench for Delta for Missions Starship the world's largest rocket will not require any such infrastructure therefore if SpaceX takes over the Launchpad this facility may be demolished and rebuilt extensively on the other hand we can't Overlook the significant impact of the immense power of the Starship that's been demonstrated both of these factors indicate the decisions will need to be thoroughly researched and verified before SpaceX can start construction on this facility with three direct public meetings and one virtual meeting scheduled for March to gather input from local residents federal agencies like the FAA NASA and the Coast Guard led by the Air Force will develop an environmental impact statement or Eis to assess how Starship launch and Landing operations will affect the land air and water surrounding SLC 37 located within the coastal compound of the space force on the the Atlantic Ocean Environmental Studies for rocket launch facilities typically take over years so it'll take some time before any major construction begins to transition SLC 37 for Starship launches in this case Federal officials are expected to publish a draft environmental impact statement in December followed by the final report in October 2025 if SpaceX is not allowed to use SLC 37 the company could potentially build an entirely new Launchpad called space launch complex 5050 SL C50 would be constructed on undeveloped Land north of SLC 37 and south of spacex's primary Falcon 9 rocket Launchpad at space launch complex 40 this is currently an undeveloped area of the facility and conversion and construction of a new Launchpad would require an environmental impact studies to be completed prior to any construction there if none of the two AFF forementioned options are suitable SpaceX will not be allowed to construct any additional Starship launchpads at Cape Canaveral space force station this is because NASA has has stated that no new LC 49 pad studies or activities are underway from Kennedy Space Center side of the Eastern range at this time there are no activities involving SC 49 on Kennedy said Patty Bing a spokesperson for NASA any previous activities regarding LC 49 were suspended and no actions were taken in fact LC 49 was initially considered as an option to build spacex's Starship launch Tower Environmental Studies by NASA at this location were conducted in 2021 but for various environmental reason reasons the option was no longer Pursuit if this were to happen SpaceX May focus on collaborating with NASA to complete the current launch system at lc-39a adjacent to the existing pad that hosts Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy launches the Starship launch Tower and paded lc-39a were constructed by SpaceX in 2022 however the company's made very little progress in recent years partly due to teams focusing on Starship test flights from South Texas and partly due to NASA's concerns about the power of Starship although SpaceX has taken measures to address this including building an additional Dragon crew Tower at lc40 Nasa still seems dissatisfied with a location of the starship's Launchpad both at the current lc-39a and crew launches from there as well as LC 39b where the Artemis SLS rocket may be on the pad for some time before launch NASA's concerned that a launch accident could disrupt operations at both of these active launch sites therefore work on the Starship launch system at lc-39a will be significantly slower and more long term compared to the new options I presented above and this would be problematic for both SpaceX and NASA who are relying on Starship for the emus program and its lunar lander it is possible that SpaceX and NASA could reach an agreement to complete the Starship launch Mount at lc-39a keny Space Center but that comes with its own issues however let's consider the most positive direction this will be an opportunity for SpaceX to expand its launch facilities and prepare for a future period of explosive launch Tempo if all OB objectives are met SpaceX plans to have three launch complexes housing a total of four Starship launch pads these complexes will be located in three regions Starbase Texas lc-39a and a new system in Florida specifically Starbase Texas is expected to have two launch pads with one already equipped with an existing launch Tower and a second pad being constructed this will result in Starship having four additional launchpads along with launch systems dedicated to Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy in Florida they have a launch pad at LC 39a and another one at SLC 40 in California they have a Launchpad at SLC 4E and they're about to take over another system slc6 in general best case scenario SpaceX will have six launch complexes with eight launch pads that's insane how much more can SpaceX grow please leave your thoughts in the comments Below in this context an issue that many people wonder about is why SpaceX doesn't continue to stay in Texas spacex's launch facility in Texas at Bachi has a limited acceptable set of trajectories available to it Florida's to the East Texas and the Gulf States are to the north and Cuba and other land masses or to the South for test launches Starship plans to thread a launch path over the Gulf of Mexico and then to orbit from the Eastern range a much wider set of trajectories is available due to the Atlantic Ocean being mostly the void of people or property over a much wider area all things considered Starship operations from the Eastern range and the cape are preferable destinations for SpaceX and NASA furthermore Starship launches from the Eastern rage could easily bring billions of dollars in economic activity to the space coast region SpaceX launches support jobs at the cape along with the associated jobs that are created to support the family of those workers and of course tourism as a major Starship launch Port the Space Coast would cement itself now and in the future as the starting point for space launches of all types the area has seen boom and bust in its history and having the most dominant commercial space company in the world using Cape Canaveral space force station as its main operational site would all but ensure a prosperous future for the area and that's all for today's episode thanks so much for watching and see you next time