Cape launch sites bustling with activity, New Glenn and Starship preparations underway

Date:
Thu, 17 Apr 2025 20:55:51 +0000

Description:
While several Cape Canaveral launch sites remain busy with launches from SpaceX, ULA, and Blue The post Cape launch sites bustling with activity, New Glenn and Starship preparations underway appeared first on
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While several Cape Canaveral launch sites remain busy with launches from SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin, other facilities at the United States premier space launch facility are undergoing important work for a new generation of rockets to debut in the not-too-distant future. Changes that will affect existing vehicles, such as the Falcon 9, are also underway or in the planning stage.

NSF recently conducted a flyover near Cape Canaveral and obtained imagery showing the current status of construction and other preparations by various launch providers, including preparations for Blue Origins second flight of
New Glenn. After a long period of relative inactivity, Starship preparations at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) have also ramped up, and other companies are building up their launch sites as well.





SpaceX

SpaceX has long planned to operate its Starship rocket from facilities at the Cape, with Starship needing to operate from Florida as part of its contribution to NASAs Artemis human lunar exploration program. LC-39A,
located on the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) grounds, served as the launch site for numerous Apollo, Shuttle, and Falcon family missions, and will ultimately be Starships first east coast launch site.

Imagery from the flyover showed strong progress on the orbital launch mount, flame trench, and Mechazilla chopstick arms for LC-39As Starship launch
tower. The orbital launch mount, which is of the same design as the mount at Starbases Orbital Launch Pad B (OLP-B), is being built at the SpaceX Roberts Road facility. The mount now has two out of its three layers welded together, and just needs the top water-cooled layer. The orbital launch mount for Starships pad at LC-39A. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

The flame trench for LC-39As Starship facility has now had its foundations dug, and the launch towers Mechazilla arms are being upgraded and reinforced to match the Mechazilla arms at Starbase. Most of the old tank farm hardware installed at LC-39A for Starship operations has now been removed, with foundation work for new tanks underway.

Based on observations of the time it has taken to build up the orbital launch mount and flame trench for OLP-B in Texas, SpaceX looks to have Starships bad at 39A largely completed by the fall. SpaceX has stated its intent to begin flying Starship missions from KSC by the end of this year, though schedules are subject to change. SpaceXs Roberts Road facility. (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)

When SpaceX begins initial Starship flights from KSC, the company plans to transport boosters and ships by barge from Texas to Florida. However, new Starship facilities are being constructed at Roberts Road to allow for future Starship construction and processing at the Cape. The Roberts Road facility
is expected to have 50% more footprint than the factory in Texas.

Construction work on the Florida Starfactory has not yet begun, as regulatory approval is still needed. However, construction has begun on the Giga Bay facility, also at Roberts Road. Foundation work, including the placement of piles and rebar, is underway. When finished, the Giga Bay will be 116 m tall, 110 m wide, and 130 m long, with approximately 58.4 million cubic feet of interior space, roughly 46.5 million of which would be usable for Starship processing. Ship 33 in Mega Bay 2 at Starbase. (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF)

For comparison, the individual Mega Bays at Starbase are approximately 100 m tall, 50 m wide, and 35 m long, with an interior processing space of roughly six million cubic feet. The Florida Giga Bay will be one of the largest buildings in the area, being dwarfed only by KSCs Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The VAB is approximately 160 m tall, 158 m wide, and 218 m long, with an interior space of approximately 129.4 million cubic feet.

Some changes are also being implemented at existing Falcon family launch pads at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) and KSC. SpaceXs lease on Launch Complex 13 at CCSFS, where its two landing zone pads for return to launch site recoveries are located, is set to expire in July, so work will soon begin on landing pads at SLC-40 and LC-39A. A draft environmental assessment has been released for a new landing zone at SLC-40, which also covers an increased launch cadence for Falcon family vehicles from that pad. Map of the new landing zone within SLC-40 as shown on the draft EA. (Credit: FAA)

Another environmental assessment is underway for a new landing zone at LC-39A as well. The Space Launch Delta 45 has released new rules for when return-to-launch-site recoveries are planned, requiring that rockets
launching from a given pad must return and land at that same pad. This rule
is meant to minimize the impacts of rocket recoveries on other launch providers and launch operations at the Cape.

Blue Origin

On the heels of New Glenns successful first flight in January, Blue Origin is advancing work on the vehicle for New Glenns second flight, which is
currently planned for late spring. In addition, new facilities at the
companys Exploration Park campus are either nearing completion, and a New Glenn second stage was spotted in the 2CAT facility. Launch Complex 36 with the integration hangar in the foreground. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

The second stage, referred to as GS2, for New Glenns second flight was recently delivered to the companys launch facility at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) on the CCSFS grounds. The GS2 mobile test stand is not visible where it is typically stored. This test stand would now be in the Horizontal Integration Facility at LC-36 for mating operations with GS2.

The stage and test stand will then be rolled out to the launch pad for
testing and an eventual static fire of the stages twin BE-3U engines. There has also been extensive flare stack activity seen at LC-36, which shows that the launch pads systems are being tested as part of preparations for the second flight. New Glenn second stage in the 2CAT facility at Blue Origins Exploration Park campus. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

While the upper stage for the second flight is being tested, another upper stage, without its spray-on foam, is located in the 2CAT facility at Exploration Park for its own testing. This stage features two new visible objects, one of which displays markings identifying it as a liquid hydrogen tank breather. It is thought the other object might be the liquid oxygen tank breather; those devices may have been added after last years tank anomaly at the 2CAT facility.

Also at the Exploration Park campus, the Chemical Processing Facility,
located on the south end, appears to be structurally complete, with work underway to add its roof and walls. The Lunar Plant 1 facility, which will manufacture Blue Moon lunar landers, now has at least two bridge cranes installed, and its blue walls are in place. Next to Lunar Plant 1, the Metal Forming Facilitys foundation is under construction. Blue Origins Exploration Park campus, including its main factory. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

Other launch providers

Stoke Space plans to launch its Nova rocket, designed to be fully reusable, from Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) at CCSFS. New propellant tanks have now been installed at LC-14 since NSFs last flyover, with the foundation for the pads integration hangar in work and flame trench digging underway.

Relativity, fresh off a change in its leadership, plans to use Launch Complex-16 (LC-16) for its partially reusable Terran R launch vehicle. The construction of the Horizontal Integration Facility for Terran R operations
is now well underway, and teams are working on a flame trench. A new circular clearing will be the home for a flare stack. The Atlas V 511 for the KA-01 mission is on Pad 41 at CCSFS. (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)

During NSFs flyover, ULAs Atlas V 511 was seen standing at SLC-41, after the KA-01 mission for the Kuiper constellation was scrubbed due to weather. A new launch date has not yet been announced. An additional Vertical Integration Facility is being built to supplement the existing one, enabling an increased launch cadence for Atlas and Vulcan.

Facilities supporting NASAs Artemis program have also seen activity in recent weeks. A second mobile launcher, designed to support the Block 1B version of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, has been under construction for several months. Module 6 of the mobile launcher has now been stacked onto the structure, while Module 7 was recently rolled out to the mobile launcher construction site. Mobile Launcher 2 construction under way. (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)

The first SLS mobile launcher, built for the Block 1 version of SLS, is currently in the VAB with Artemis IIs core stage, launch vehicle stage adapter, and solid rocket boosters stacked atop it. The ICPS upper stage will be installed next, with the Orion spacecraft expected to be ready for
stacking by late summer or early fall. Rollout to LC-39B is expected by years end for an early 2026 launch, sending humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

( Lead image: The VAB and LC-39A and LC-39B are seen from the air above the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/04/cape-flyover-041625/


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