The 2025 FAA EIS review for Starship operations at 39A
Kennedy Space Centre’s (KSC) pad LC-39A
Credit: NASA
On the 4th of August 2025, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) released their 2025 EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) for Starship Super Heavy use at LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The purpose of an EIS is to show and provide details on the impact to the surrounding environment during SpaceX’s tenure at LC-39A. In this article we will discuss the key takeaways and information briefly and give an overview of said information rather than a deep technical dive into every sentence. So with that being said, lets jump straight into it pointy end up ;)
The statement starts by saying who was involved in the decision-making, a background of the starship vehicle etc, but today we are just going to talk purely about the effects it has on Starship operations. However, one of the details in this section is the fact that this is NOT a launch licence at all, and SpaceX will need to obtain one in order to launch from LC-39A.
As of this report, SpaceX may launch starship 44 times per year from 39A, with the ability to perform 88 landings, 44 per stage. Its assumed that as of now, SpaceX will conduct 22 day launches (stretching 7am-10pm) and 22 night launches (10pm-7am). In addition to this, SpaceX can conduct 88 static fires per year incluiding 44 for each stage. For Static Fires (SF), they can only be performed durinig the day time with a max duraition of 15 seconds. Although this doesn’t seem like to many flights, the FAA insists that more flights and less strict launch operations will come with the maturity of the vehicle.
How might launch day operations change compared to Starbase launch operations?
The short answer is, not a lot. SpaceX will be more or less conducting the same routine they currently use from the first roadblock, up to the safing of Super Heavy post landing. In the image below, you can see where the keep out zones are and how it will affect operations at nearby pads.
Restriction zones for launches of Starship from LC-39A
Here we can see 2 main areas covered in red and yellow. These areas depict the restriction areas on a launch or testing day. During testing, launch or landing, the red zone will be cleared and roadblocks will be established 3 hour prior. But, during just launch operations, that zone stretches out to the yellow area, a bigger zone for more dangerous and more powerful operations. Unfortunately for ULA their SLC-41 pad primarily used for Atlas V launches will be a no go zone during a starship launch. SLC-40 is used by SpaceX for Falcon and operations there will be halted during launch day for Starship. It is estimated that space would use 60.5 full days worth of closures, 44 full day closures from launch and 33 half days for vehicle testing. At the end of this section it is again reiterated that keep out zones and roadblock times may shrink as more data and more reliability comes to the Starship program. Launch day closure activities have already been established and can be seen in the image below.
Airspace and maritime effects during launch/landing
Launch trajectories have been established and rules regarding airspace and sea closures have been made. During a launch, Airspaces/airports near the launch site and airspaces along the ascent corridor will have delays starting 40mins before a launch and delays can last up to 2 hours. NOTAMs will be published at least 48 hours before a launch or entry operation to give time for re-routing/planning ahead of launch day. For boats, NOTMARs and other necessary information will be published prior to a launch. These are issues to inform boats and other marine assets of No-Go zones during launch operations. During Static Fire operations, Airspaces and local airports will continue as normal with no effects on aircraft operations at all. For boats, not the same story, there will be much smaller keep out zones established off the coast of 39A during static fire tests for boats to keep away from for their own safety. These effects will impact routes extending Eastward of the Atlantic, stretching approx. 1600 Nautical miles. Starship re-entries will effect routes stretching Westward of KSC over portions of the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of America, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic ocean.
Launch trajectories will vary depending on the mission, these trajectories span from 40 degrees - 115degrees.
Landing scenarios
The next section of this statement discusses landing operations for both stages, discussing plans for offshore and RTLS (Return To Launch Site) landings. Starship RTLS corridors and trajectories have been established and can be seen in the image below which depicts the airspace hazard areas during entry operation
As development of Super heavy and Starship continues, not every flight will be 100% success guaranteed and some may require diverts or expended vehicles. These can be performed in the ocean following one of the three conditions:
Hard splashdown at terminal velocity resulting in the breakup of the vehicle on impact.
Soft splashdown and tip over of the vehicle with an explosion on impact with the water. Or SpaceX may sink the vehicle.
In flight break-up / RUD resulting in debris falling into the ocean (up to 25 times per vehicle).
Although the scenarios may be common at the start, SpaceX intends to have no more than 20 of the scenarios to happen with both vehicle for the life of the program, with these to only occur in the first 5-6 years of the program. In other words, SpaceX intends to have re-use and reliability down to a tee before the decade is out!
Super Heavy may use drone ships located in the Atlantic Ocean for landings, or expended in the ocean. Personally, I don’t think SpaceX will utilise the drone ship option as that goes against the rapid reuse goals of the program. Below are the zones for Starship and Super Heavy landings in the event of an offshore/ocean landing in various locations around the world:
Starship and Super Heavy landing areas in the Atlantic Ocean.
Starship landing areas in the Indian Ocean.
Starship landing areas in the North Pacific Ocean.
Starship southeast Pacific landing areas.
ASU and other proposed infrastructure at LC-39A
Next up is the planned infrastructure for LC-39A. Newly proposed building and infrastructure has been proposed for LC-39A including an Air Separation Unit (ASU) and liquefaction plant for propellant generation on-site, as well as a catch tower!
The ASU will cover 222,000 square footage (approx) and will produce LN2 and LOX that will be transferred to storage tanks via pipeline. This proposed ASU will be cooled by a typical evaporative cooling tower that will require approx. 20,000 gallons of water per hour, and produce 2,000 gallon of waste water per hour. The ASU will be roughly 55m tall with supporting infrastructure reaching about 18m tall. This onsite propellant generation will reduce the need for so many trucks to import the propellant, reducing traffic. Its estimated that 270 LOX, 80 LN2 and 90 CH4 trucks will be needed per launch, and if there are 44 launches conducted, that will mean 19,356 trucks will be needed per year, coming in during a 12 hour period in the day, 365 days a year. To power these 2 new buildings, SpaceX will utilise newly built power MegaPacks that can store up to 3.9Mw hours of electricity. SpaceX has proposed to build these packs, plus a power hub that will cover a combined 60,000 square footage (approx.)
An independent catch tower will also be constructed in the previously approved landing area from the 2019 EIS. Although not much else is said about the catch tower in this statement. Other infrastructure includes some propellant treatment facilities and deluge/stormwater ponds. During launch, SpaceX will use a water deluge system that will disperse around 518,000 litres of water to protect launch infrastructure from damage. SpaceX estimates around 190 million (297 million including Falcon) litres of water will be used during a year, with the deluge allowed to be used 220 times per year: 88 SF, 44 launches and 88 landings. Most of the pre-ignition water will be captured by the proposed ponds and potentially reused, although 92% of the water used during a launch will be vaporised by the plume from Super Heavy. Berms will be constructed around the pond to eliminate stormwater/drainwater inflow/outflow. No deluge water will enter the nearby Banana River or nearby wetlands or water bodies.
Proposed infrastructure at LC-39A
Transport of Starship, Super Heavy and other hardware
Starship vehicles flying out of 39A will at first be transported from Starbase via roadways or barge. Road transport of Starship vehicles and components will be used on a mobile transporter similar to Falcon. Barge transportation methods will depart from the Port of Brownsville and arrive at the KSC turn basin, then get moved towards the VAB, then up the 39A crawlerway. There are no new or improved transport routes being used or constructed as of now; if they were to do this, a new review led by the NEPA would be required. For movements from 39A to SpaceX facilities at KSC, they would likely continue to be done via the SPMTs that we see at Starbase, using KSC roadways.
KSC transport routes for barged in Starship Hardware.
Noise and Hearing
The final major section in this review is the potential impacts of noise during a launch, from the roar of 33 Raptor engines to the sonic booms of a returning vehicle. The FAA has conducted an analysis of many areas around the KSC and provided great information on potential hearing impacts. Interruptions caused by Starship launches nearby KSC would be brief and non-impactful. Below I will list some facts taken from this section:
- A study shows that there would be an 82% chance of being woken from a nighttime launch.
- Noise levels would remain below 65 A-weighted decibels in locations outside the boundaries of KSC/CCSFS.
- Engine sounds would remain below hearing conversation outside the keep-out zones.
- Sonic booms would be at frequencies that do not interact with the hearing mechanism.
- People in high-noise areas will receive hearing protection equipment, even though the damage risk would be little.
These are key takeaways from this section, and there are a few images that you can look at to help visualise the effects Starship noises will have on surrounding areas of 39A.
A-Weight DNL (Day-Night Average Sound Level)
C-Weighted DNL
Super Heavy sonic boom overpressure
Starship RTLS sonic boom overpressure
Summary
To summarise, we will have a reimagined and brand-new-looking 39A filled with tanks, towers and buildings to support Starship and Falcon simultaneously. All current construction will continue for another 2 years as SpaceX expands the Starship programme to the Space Coast.
No significant impact has been determined by the FAA and supporting agencies, giving Starship the green light to operate out of 39A. It's important to note that this does not mean Starship can launch from 39A as of right now, as they need to obtain a separate launch licence. This is an environmental impact study to allow construction to continue, not an issuance of a launch licence. Also, restrictions, keep-out zones and hazard areas will reduce as the vehicle and program develop into aircraft-like operation status.
Construction has already begun and can be seen during Falcon 9 broadcasts from 39A launches!
There is more information about effects to Sealife and wildlife, however I personally don’t think its to important in the grand scheme of the mission SpaceX are on so have chosen not to include it here; However, if you are curious, the link to the full EIS is at the bottom of the page where you can find all the in depth information on the proposed infrastructure at LC-39A!
All diagrams are taken from the EIS report here: https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship_ksc/SpaceX-SSH-at-LC-39A-Draft-EIS_Executive-Summary.pdf
Thanks for reading, and any feedback will be appreciated, as this is my first article in a long time. It won't be perfect, but I hope it provides you with the key information from this EIS report.