Hi Guys, this is DK from NASASpaceFlight and We have just gotten one of the biggest updates
about when we can expect a full Starship Launch - and I mean a FULL STACK Starship on Super
Heavy Booster launch, the biggest rocket humans have ever assembled.
On Friday, September 17th, the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, released the draft
Environmental Assessment for SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site. Inside were some new details
about how SpaceX plans to operate Starship and Super Heavy launches from the site, as
well as future expansions of the facility.
Okay great, so what is the environmental assessment?
This environmental assessment is a comprehensive study of the entire Boca Chica launch site,
surrounding areas and communities, as well as SpaceX's future plans. As the name suggests,
it deals with any environmental impacts that operations at the launch site will have. It
discusses air and particulate pollution, wildlife, and light and sound emission, including sonic
booms.
It also discusses impacts on cultural landmarks, as well as impacts on homeowners around the
launch site. In addition, the report discusses how SpaceX will work with agencies to address
concerns and deal with any anomalies.
Based on its findings, the FAA would either give SpaceX the OK to apply for an experimental
permit or operational license from the Boca Chica site, or would have to conduct further
studies. For now, it seems that the FAA hasn’t found any significant issues.
And for anyone wondering about Starship operations from elsewhere, specifically Florida, another
review would have to take place for future launch sites.
The document said that SpaceX looked into launching Starship from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral,
and SLC-4E at Vandenberg. Falcon 9 launches from both sites, and Starship construction
and operations would get in the way of Falcon launches. In addition, SpaceX would have to
work with the other launch providers and range operators at those sites to schedule Starship
launches. Because of these reasons, both sites were disqualified.
This whole report may not sound too interesting, but it has a major part to play in future
launches from the site. Also, because the FAA had to analyze and discuss SpaceX’s
future plans, we got some new information about the future of the Starbase Boca Chica.
First off, SpaceX is planning to construct a second orbital launch site, called - you
guessed it - Pad B. This will essentially be a copy of the one currently under construction,
Pad A. Pad B will have its own integration tower, as well as its own tank farm. Just
like on the suborbital side, where they have two pads, SpaceX wants redundancy on the orbital
side of the launch site.
Orbital Pad B will be located to the south of Orbital Pad A, toward Mexico. With Pad
B, as well as Pad A, SpaceX is still unsure whether or not they should employ flame diverters
to help dissipate the massive exhaust plume created by all those Raptor engines. They’re
also unsure if sound suppression water should spray directly into the rocket’s plume,
or just around the pad. It’s possible that SpaceX has made up its mind since the draft
Environmental Assessment was written, but this is what was in the document so it’s
all we have to go on right now. We’ll just have to wait and see what they end up doing
once Super Heavy static fire testing begins.
West of Orbital Pad B, toward the suborbital launch site, will be a new landing pad, Landing
Pad B, as well as another dedicated structural test stand. At the structural test stands,
test tanks will be tested and pushed to failure. Most previous test tanks have simply been
set on transport mounts and hooked up to the tank farm using temporary hoses.
According to the Draft Assessment, the new stand will feature more permanent piping and
structures, but no further information was provided. SpaceX expects to have a maximum
of 10 tank tests per month.
Speaking of tank testing - let’s take a moment to discuss the different types of testing
SpaceX says they will do. Seasoned tankwatchers will already be familiar with these tests,
but thanks to the Draft EA, we get some naming corrections, and some interesting details.
There’s two categories of testing described in the document, Proof Pressure Testing, and
Developmental Testing. There are two types of Proof pressure testing, first, what we
have previously referred to as “Ambient” proof testing, the document calls “pneumatic”
proof testing. This is where the tank is pressurised with gas, rather than liquid. The other type
of proof pressure testing described is Cryogenic proof testing. This is where cryogenic LN2,
CH4, or LOX is loaded into the tanks, which “are then pressurized past their rated limit
to confirm their structural capability with appropriate factors of safety.”.
Starship’s flight pressure inside its fuel tanks is about 6 bar, or 6 times Earth’s
atmospheric pressure. SpaceX tests the resilience of the tanks by pressurizing them above 6
bar, to around 8 bar.
Aside from Proof Pressure Testing, there is also Developmental testing. This includes
two types of burst testing, hydrostatic (using water) and cryogenic (using LN2 or LOX). During
developmental testing, tanks are “pressurized to a specific limit or to deliberate failure”
and the test media used is deliberately released into the environment.
We’ve seen all of these types of tests before, but it’s nice to have some more information
in terms of the technical jargon.
Additionally, the document notes that SpaceX will conduct tank tests on every Super Heavy
and Starship prototype that is built, saying specifically, “SpaceX is planning to conduct
the tank tests described above for each Super Heavy and Starship prototype that is built
until the test is successful. If a test is unsuccessful and results in damage to the
test vehicle, SpaceX would construct and test a new test vehicle. Once tank tests are successful,
SpaceX would conduct a static fire engine test.”
To accommodate the new structural test stand, and Orbital Pad B, the launch site footprint
will be expanded to SpaceX’s property line, totalling about 40 acres. The current site
only makes up a portion of the company’s land. Here you can see how SpaceX plans to
extend the footprint of the launch site, or, as the draft EA calls it, the Vertical Launch
Area. We’ll just keep calling it the launch site for simplicity’s sake.
Also, with this additional space, SpaceX will dig two new water wells and build a desalination
plant to remove salt from the water. Currently, one well has been drilled at the site to use
as sound and fire suppression for the suborbital launch site. At least some of this water seems
to then be stored in Starhopper, which is lovingly labelled as a water tower in this
diagram. The two new wells will be used for fetching sound and fire suppression water
for orbital launches.
The launch site isn’t the only thing we can expect to expand. At the build site, SpaceX
is planning to construct a large Payload Processing Facility. This building will receive payloads
to be launched on Starship. There, they will perform final processing and fueling, before
integrating the payload into Starship. The building will be up to 240 feet or 73m tall,
and have a footprint of up to 22,000 square feet or 2044 square meters. For comparison,
the current High Bay at the site is about 265ft tall, so the PPF has the potential to
be a truly massive building.
The document also discusses the liquid oxygen plant currently being built. In addition,
SpaceX will construct a natural gas processing facility and a liquifier to create pure liquid
methane.
A new natural gas power plant at the site was mentioned, which may have already been
constructed. During the summer, we saw natural gas generators being installed at the propellant
production site. These may be part of the power plant mentioned. The document states
that the final location of the plant has not been determined, but that it will generate
250 megawatts of power. The excess heat from the plant may be used by the desalinator,
if a power plant is built at the launch site.
Speaking of power, the solar farm near the village will b e expanded. It currently takes
up 1.7 acres and generates 1 megawatt. SpaceX has proposed to increase this by 750 kilowatts,
to 1.7 megawatts, along with an additional battery system for up to 8megawatt hours of
energy storage. The document states that the solar farm may be expanded to up to 7 acres
in size. In addition, the document confirms that the launch site is currently powered
by the solar farm.
In Starship’s development phase, SpaceX will be limited to 3 Super Heavy launches,
and 20 suborbital Starship launches, per year. In the operational phase, this will change
to 5 Super Heavy launches and 5 Starship launches per year. SpaceX will also be able to land
5 Super Heavy boosters on land per year in this phase.
This flight rate is quite low compared to SpaceX’s eventual goal of several launches
per day. In addition, launches beyond low Earth orbit will require several refuelings,
possibly around a dozen for Human Landing System missions to the Moon. It’s likely
SpaceX will try to get the allowed flights increased in the near future, which would
require a new, but shorter, environmental assessment to be completed.
In the development phase, orbital launches are expected to follow an initial mission
profile where the vehicle lifts off from Boca Chica, and Starship re-enters and lands in
the Pacific Ocean. The report also states that SpaceX is looking into possibly landing
on islands in the Pacific later on.
Most of these launches should take place between 7AM and 7PM local time. But since delays are
a common part of spaceflight, some will inevitably be pushed until later in the night.
Different flight profiles may be proposed, but they would have to be approved separately.
“A common question we get is if SpaceX might build a second road, or even a rail line to
the launch site to help reduce the traffic from road closures. Well, in the Draft EA,
SpaceX proposes not a new road but rather to “add three pull-offs along Highway 4
to allow traffic to pull onto a widened shoulder so the transporter can pass. The proposed
locations of the three pull-offs are shown in figure 2-7 The document goes on to say
that “ The pull-offs would be approximately 75 feet long by 30 feet wide” and that with
three pull offs, combined with the transporters speed of 2 miles per hour, the maximum wait
time of about 20 minutes for drivers would be expected. This means that it would not
be necessary to close highway 4 entirely in both directions as they do now to transport
Starship or Super Heavy Boosters.
Sonic boom studies were a large part of the assessment. A sonic boom is a pressure wave
formed from a vehicle moving faster than the speed of sound. The pressure from a sonic
boom can damage property if it is large enough. Currently, it is not expected that sonic booms
from operations will significantly impact populated areas.
We also got a peek at the closure map during orbital flights. On this chart, only SpaceX
and emergency personnel would be allowed within the light yellow area. The purple area will
only be open to landowners in that area, and the black stripe area will be completely closed
off from any personnel.
Finally, let’s discuss the wildlife impacts that these operations will have. The document
states that the direct impact on unprotected species will be extremely low, including by
sonic booms and direct impacts from debris. Leftover propellants from water landings would
quickly dissipate and provide no major impact on marine life. Effects on sea turtle nesting
will be mitigated by creating a lighting plan for the site. Turtle nesting can be negatively
affected by bright lights, so planning ahead for lighting can protect the endangered species.
Just over 30 acres of habitat would be removed by operations at the site, although the assessment
states that this is a small fraction of the habitat space available in the area.
To mitigate any other impacts, SpaceX will take precautions like training personnel about
fire and pollution safety, not dumping water or material into waterways, ensuring hydraulics
and gas tanks do not leak, and others. Biologists would be hired for worker education, as well
as monitoring the biological status of the site.
For now, the environmental assessment is in a 30-day public comment period, which lasts
until October 18th, though this period could be extended. From there, the FAA will take
the public feedback it’s received, as well as feedback from the [two federal agencies
they asked for comment] and use it to formulate the final report. There is no set time for
the finished report to be released, but it will likely take several months to be completed.
There’s way more in the report itself that can be fit in this video so if you’re interested,
give it a read yourself.
Since it is a public feedback period, people are able to send their thoughts to the FAA.
You will be able to find the appropriate contact information in the description below.
And that’s it, don’t forget to subscribe, so you don’t miss out on any future videos
talking about Starship operations down in Boca Chica.
This video was written by Ian Atkinson and Jack Beyer with help from JoshMil from the
NSF Discord, which you could totally join by clicking that little join button and becoming
a channel member