The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released details of the new Tiered Environmental Assessment (TEA) for Starbase. This proposal will help SpaceX expand operations at Starbase and better define operations for the Starship program.
Why SpaceX needs a new EA?
In the original 2022 programmable environmental assessment (PEA), SpaceX was allowed to build two orbital launch pads (OLPs) at Boca Chica. Original plans called for Pad B to be south of Pad A and for no deluge equipment to be used. Since that PEA, a lot has changed. SpaceX added a deluge and wants to build a flame trench for Pad B, which has now been moved west of Pad A.
With all these changes, SpaceX must complete additional environmental paperwork to gain approval to use these designs.
This is now set out in the new Tiered Environmental Assessment (TEA), which will be an updated document for the purposes of Pad B, the increases in cadence, and the vehicle changes as outlined in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for LC-39A. This TEA must be approved in order to launch from Pad B, use the new equipment, and update Starship vehicle designs.
LC-39A in mid-July (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)
The current alternate actions are LC-39A, which as stated, is undergoing an EIS to approve current changes to the spacecraft program compared to the 2019 EIS. This would leave LC-39A a considerable amount of time away from being unable to support a launch, so its use as an alternate is out of the question for fulfilling launch contracts.
The second alternative, SLC-37 or SLC-50, is also undergoing an environmental impact assessment. SpaceX is expected to receive authorization to begin construction of this launch pad only in late 2025.
The final alternative is to take no action. This basically means that this TEA is not approved and SpaceX will not be allowed to launch at its increased rate or use the B pad. This would be a major setback for the Starship program.
SpaceX launch site design proposal (Credit: FAA)
Confirmation of pad changes
With the release of this TEA proposal, many new developments can be seen regarding the launch site. SpaceX intends to share the orbital tank farm (OTF), as stated in the TEA and during the Flight 4 broadcast. In the map above, SpaceX is going to move Gate D2 or the entrance to the launch site to the other side of Starhopper. This will allow crews to install additional tanks and most likely a separate set of pumps and subcoolers for Pad B.
Sharing the launch pad allows SpaceX to not have to find or build enough tanks for another entire launch pad and will help keep payload areas and equipment centralized. Now, these subcoolers and pumps will be routed through feedstock trenches to the tower and pad itself. Pad B is set to have a flame trench and diverter using lessons learned on Pad A right next door.
Orbital launch site (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF/L2)
To help fill this tank farm, SpaceX is adding a full air separation unit, which will take oxygen and nitrogen from the atmosphere and condense them into liquid form. Once in liquid form, the air separation unit can fill the liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid nitrogen (LN2) tanks at the OTF. SpaceX will still need to transport liquid methane (LCH4) in by truck. This will help reduce the number of trucks needed to fill the massive OTF.
The B-deck sound and deluge suppression systems will have their own water park separate from the A-deck. This park will supply water for a new deck cooling system that will debut on this new deck, as confirmed in this TEA.
Updated vehicle specifications
As seen in the LC-39A EIS proposal, SpaceX either intends to upgrade the spacecraft to these specifications or is significantly increasing them to provide headroom. The spacecraft, which is the second stage, will be up to 70 meters tall, compared to the current 50 meters. The expected nine-engine second stage and lengthening of the spacecraft will increase propulsion capacity from about 1,300 metric tons (MT) with the Block 1 spacecraft to 2,650 MT.
A slide showing performance numbers for Starship versions. (Credit: SpaceX)
The booster rocket, which is the first stage, will also increase in height, from 70 to 80 meters. Two more engines will lift it to 35 meters, and the fuel capacity will be 4,100 metric tons, which is only 900 tons less than the current full stack. With these increases, SpaceX can meet the figure of more than 200 reusable tons promised in the past.
With the mass increases will also come increases in thrust to compensate. The spacecraft's thrust will now be 28.7 meganewtons (MN), up from 12.25 MN today, and the booster thrust will be 103 MN, up from 69.9 MN today. These figures are for Block 3 of the spacecraft, which is still in the future, and for now, the current improvements are much smaller with Block 2.
Increased cadence
SpaceX is currently allocated ten launches per year with five landings from Starbase. In this TEA, SpaceX is asking to increase that number to 25 launches of spacecraft and booster rockets, along with 50 landings. This configuration has 24 launches during the day and is allocated only one night launch from Starbase. In this case, the night schedule is set between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Central Time.
With this increased cadence, SpaceX can conduct more launches. However, to utilize this cadence allocation, teams must increase production of spacecraft and rockets and complete Pad B as soon as possible, assuming this TEA is approved.
Spacecraft 29 and Booster 11 in flight (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)
Flight operations
SpaceX and the FAA have set operational goals and limits for the Starship program going forward. One of them is that there will be no more than 20 explosive events over water during the life of the program. These would occur in the first five years, while SpaceX learns how to use the vehicle.
During flights, the hot stage ring is expected to be jettisoned for up to the first 20 flights. With landings back to the launch site, the ring is expected to land four kilometers offshore. This means that Booster Block 2 is likely a ways off, as that booster should have big changes for Pad B and other lessons learned.
Getting rid of the hot stage image.twitter.com/J48QtQD1Ae
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
As for landings back to the launch site, SpaceX will use the water deluge system for booster captures, but not for spacecraft captures. This is because with boosters, the engines will be much closer to the ground.
SpaceX has continued to mention landing on a sea platform for landing a spacecraft. In this TEA, one method of transportation was mentioned, which was in the form of a breakaway device. This structure would take a ship or perhaps even a booster and put it in a horizontal position for transport over water.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously mentioned that if they were to transport vehicles to Cape Canaveral from Starbase, it would be via barge and horizontally.
This is a condensed version of the 154-page TEA document sent by the FAA.
Featured Image: Orbital launch site with two towers (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)
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