SpaceX gets green light to more than double rocket launches from Florida

SpaceX launch: Falcon 9 rocket heads into space carrying satellites

Falcon 9 rocket carrying a variety of spacecrafts seen lifting off from Kennedy Space Center and heading into space Friday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Federal Aviation Administration has finalized part of an environmental assessment that will allow SpaceX to more than double the number of Falcon 9 launches from Florida’s Space Coast.

Under the approval, the private space company will be capable of conducting up to 120 Falcon 9 missions per year from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, instead of being limited to 50 during previous years.

In addition to the expanded launches, the review also clears the way for SpaceX to build a new landing zone on-site that could support as many as 34 first-stage booster landings annually.

The FAA said its review considered a wide range of environmental impact factors, including air quality, climate impact and noise, but determined that regular launch activities would remain within acceptable levels.

The agency also noted that the region would not see a significant increase in sonic booms generated by Falcon 9 operations because of flights’ eastward trajectories over the open Atlantic waters.

FUTURE OF NASA’S MEGA MOON ROCKET APPEARS IN DOUBT FOLLOWING MAJOR BOEING ANNOUNCEMENT

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on Jan. 6, 2022, marking the first launch of the year. (Image: SpaceX)

(SpaceX / FOX Weather)

The review also extended beyond Florida’s coastline, with regulators saying they assessed potential risks to the Bahamas, which sit more than 50 miles to the east of the Sunshine State.

The FAA said it determined that increased launch activity would pose a negligible increase in risk to humans.

The agency was less definitive about how the increased activity might affect wildlife in the surrounding area.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge surrounds space activities and is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including 15 that are federally listed as either threatened or endangered.

The review acknowledged that "long-term loss of habitat and wildlife from the portion of the study area most affected by noise and vibration, as well as associated adverse effects on reproductive success and mortality rate, would be possible, although the likelihood is difficult to predict."

FAA SAYS FEWER LAUNCHES ARE CLOSING FLORIDA AIRSPACE AFTER NEW CHANGES

While the environmental clearance marks an important milestone, SpaceX must still receive additional clearances from the FAA and the U.S. Air Force – both of which are not expected to produce additional, significant hurdles.

"SpaceX’s proposal is needed to meet current and anticipated near-term future U.S. Government launch requirements for national security, space exploration, science, and the Assured Access to Space process of the National Security Space Launch program," the FAA said in the assessment. "The proposed increased launch cadence at SLC-40 is needed so that SpaceX can continue to implement U.S. Government missions while simultaneously meeting its increasing commercial launch demands."

The new clearances are expected to give the company flexibility as it ramps up missions involving satellite deployments and launches for national security operations.