Where to put a commercial space port?

So, SpaceX is looking to build a third launch site, next to Canaveral and Vandenberg, because they have lots of rockets to launch (and presumable don't want to keep waiting for some Air Force satellite to go up first or such too often). They're looking at various sites. Where would you put a third launch site? Why there?

Were money no object, I would look at South Texas along the Gulf coast. As far South as I could go somewhere between Corpus Cristi and Port Isabel.

I like the suggestion of Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Easier to ship to than Kwaj, though still obviously worse than anywhere else in the US. More inclinations available without overflying land, unlike Texas which just has a keyhole between Cuba and Florida. Farther south than anywhere in the continental US, for maximum free velocity for escape missions.

The EIS is the tough part, though. You'd have to buy a lot of people off to fly regularly from the coast of a tropical island. The first time you drop a rocket on a tourist reef you're in trouble.

Sea Launch had a good idea, if not the best hardware. According to folks I talked to at the FAA, they had the easiest launch license process ever, since their e sub c was basically 0. Big floating platforms are common, and may be cheaper than buying a tropical island and permission.

You only have to get above 25 miles and you can overfly anywhere you like. Legally. Insurance wise, they will still have kittens, but its just money...

Yeah, floating 12 miles out and launching is the cheapest route, but sea conditions and weather will play hell with your flight schedule. It will greatly slow down your launch turn around times too. And there is probably a practical limit to the size of vehicle you can launch from a floating structure. ICBM? no problem. Soyuz, Ariane, Falcon-Heavy? Not so much.

Oil platforms have been suggested.

Well, I'm not sure about the floating structure. A Falcon Heavy weighs 1400 tons, while the largest ships can carry up to 500,000 tons. I doubt this baby would notice if a Falcon Heavy launched from it weight-wise, and at 380x60m there should be enough space as well (the current F9 launch site at Cape Canaveral is circular and about 350m in diameter).

With respect to the sea state, sure, put it in the Southern Ocean and it'll roll, but in the tradewind area north of the ITCZ? Say east of Cuba? And what if you built it like a huge catamaran? Those are much more stable.

At around 100M$ it's not cheap, but in the same order of magnitude of what they're currently paying for a launch site. Furthermore, it doesn't have to move; they can ship the rocket directly from Texas after testing on a separate ship, and just leave the platform out there, maybe moving around a bit to avoid bad weather or move closer to the equator for very heavy launches. And no range issues ever, which is kind of important if you want to launch at the rates SpaceX is planning to...

You can't overfly anywhere you want, legally, at any altitude. Getting a lunch license is a part of the legal framework, and if the place you overfly puts your e sub c (expected casualties) too high, you don't get a launch license.

This is specifically for American companies, but I haven't seen any sign of there being a non-American SpaceX any time soon. They also can't say "we'll launch in another country", as the FAA claims jurisdiction over launches by American companies regardless of where the launch takes place.

South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. There you could easily do ground launch or sea launch, at 18-19 degrees Lat, it's way closer to the equator than Texas or Florida, lot's of open ocean surrounding it, acres of inexpensive land and has a paved road to the area. Plus, how many people would like to live in this beautiful area on Hawaii?

Hawaii is nice. I change my "vote" for Hawaii. lol.



Tell me how you are supposed to put something into orbit without overflying a populated area?

My comment was in regards to international law and the requirement for flight plans and airspace approvals. The capricious and arbitrary regulations of the FAA are an entirely different matter.

Yes well, the airspace is the trivial portion of the governmental approval.

As Socrates said, "When you understand Ec, you are halfway to orbit."

That is a seriously big boat!

A launch platform I would think would be much cheaper than the $100 for that. You don't anywhere near as much space, or all the gubbins associated with the tanker side of things. Do need fuel storage, but you would need that on land anyway.

I think it would be a very good option!

Why not Spaceport American in New Mexico?

Favorable government environment and land already set aside.

Because you'd have to get clearance to launch towards Texas, Mexico and other population centres, which is probably not that easy. Vandenberg has the same problem, but if I understand correctly it's mainly used for polar and high-inclination orbits, for which you can launch southward over the Pacific.

So, the perfect location would be on a coast, close to the equator for launches to GEO, with a big chunk of ocean or empty land to the east and either south or north.

The only drawback I can see to Hawaii is that it is quite far away, and perhaps the residents and the tourists are not going to be too happy about the noise. A platform on legs has to be on a continental shelf, close to the coast, as the sea has to be less than about 500m deep and the ocean floor drops away from the US very quickly. For polar launches a platform off the coast of Nova Scotia might work, but it's too far away from the equator for equatorial orbits. They could probably also build a launch tower off of the Florida coast, just far enough away from Canaveral to not have to worry about other launches. A floating launch platform is more flexible though.

140,000 feet

Only good enough for small launches; you couldn't launch a Falcon IX Heavy from a nearspace airship.

Hmmm, F1 comes in at under 28 tonnes GLOW, and F1e comes in at 35 tonnes... would take some modifying though for horizontal drop launch, and you'd want to optimise both engines for vacuum operation. I don't think it's feasible using a Falcon rocket; however, certain existing rocket stages might be. Might be an avenue worth checking out.

JP, it helps to have technicians around a spaceport, and at the moment no-one's trying to actually put people in nearspace.

Not too many residents on that rural part of the 'Big Island' and fewer still are the tourists that mostly go to the other islands or the Kona Coast on the west side of the island over the mountains and that would actually be an additional 'tourist attraction' seeing a launch.

'Perfect location'...the coast there has more than two thousand miles of ocean to the north, south, and east, it's far closer to the equator than Texas or Florida and the climate on that part of the island is relatively dry as it borders the Kau Desert, and yes, there are areas of Hawaii that are hot and dry.