Thu, Jul 17, 2014
Issues Record Of Decision Clearing The Way For South Texas Spaceport
The FAA has released a document indicating it has approved a SpaceX spaceport on the south Texas coast.
The 62-page document, called a "Record of Decision", states that it provides the FAA's final environmental determination and approval "to support the issuance of launch licenses and/or experimental permits that would allow Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) to launch the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch vehicles and a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles from a launch site on privately owned property in Cameron County, Texas. The Federal action identified in this ROD is the FAA’s issuance of launch licenses and/or experimental permits."
The approval allows SpaceX to conduct up to 12 launches per year of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch vehicles, and a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles, from an exclusive-use launch site on privately owned property in Cameron County, Texas. The site is in a sparsely populated coastal area on the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 3 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border.
Of the 12 yearly launches approved for the spaceport, only two could utilize the company's Falcon Heavy boosters. The total also includes any suborbital flights employing "reusable" rockets, which would seem to be a reference to the company's "Grasshopper" flights.
Approved commercial payloads include satellites, or experimental payloads, and may carry a capsule, such as the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
More News
Touchdown Zone Lighting Two rows of transverse light bars located symmetrically about the runway centerline normally at 100 foot intervals. The basic system extends 3,000 feet alon>[...]
“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in subor>[...]
"We are reaching out to you today on behalf of the Popular Rotorcraft Association because we need your help. We are dangerously close to losing a critical resource that if lost, wi>[...]
UAS Traffic Management (UTM) The unmanned aircraft traffic management ecosystem that will allow multiple low altitude BVLOS operations and which is separate from, but complementary>[...]
Aero Linx: Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) SAFE is a member-oriented organization of aviation educators fostering professionalism and excellence in aviation through>[...]