SpaceX wants to launch 25 times per year from Boca Chica

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SpaceX wishes to dramatically increase the number of Starship-Super Heavy launches it conducts out from the company’s Boca Chica production and testing complex, otherwise known as Starbase.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that it will hold public meetings next month in Port Isabel and South Padre Island on a Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for SpaceX’s proposal to ramp up its launch cadence — up to 25 times a year.

The company also wants to conduct up to 25 landings each of the Starship and Super Heavy per year. The company’s goal is to recover and reuse Starship and Super Heavy many times, which would require landing them on the ground or an offshore platform.

On June 6, during its fourth Starship orbital test flight, SpaceX managed for the first time controlled water landings of Super Heavy (in the Gulf) and a Starship (in the Indian Ocean). No recoveries have been attempted with the early orbital test flights, and the vehicles — or pieces of them — have been allowed to sink.

Musk posted on X July 5 that the fifth orbital flight test would take place “in 4 weeks,” which would make it the first week of August.

The first Draft EA public meeting will be held Aug. 13, 1-3 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the South Padre Island Convention Center, 7355 Padre Blvd. The second meeting will take place Aug. 15, 1-3 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Port Isabel Event and Cultural Center, 309 E. Railroad Ave.

A virtual meeting will also take place, on Aug. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The link to register can be found here.

The FAA said it will provide a prerecorded presentation during the first half hour of each public meeting, and that members of public will be able to submit written and oral comments during the meetings. English-Spanish translation services will be provided, and English and Spanish versions of the presentation will be made available to the public on Aug. 13

Go to the same website for more information on the public meetings. To request special accommodations, such as additional translation services, submit a request by Aug. 2 to the project email address: [email protected].

In addition to the heightened launch and landing cadence, the Draft EA also will address upgrades to Starship and Super Heavy, according to the FAA. The Draft EA will be released for public review and comment in late July, the agency said.