The commander of the military unit responsible for the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida expects SpaceX to commence Starship rocket launches from the site next year.
Rival companies, with facilities near SpaceX’s Starship launch pads, have voiced dissatisfaction. SpaceX's main competitors, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA), previously expressed concerns that SpaceX’s proposal to launch up to 120 Starships annually from Florida's Space Coast might necessitate frequent evacuation of personnel from their own launch pads for safety.
This is not the first time Blue Origin and ULA have tried to hinder SpaceX’s operations. In 2013, both companies attempted to block NASA from leasing a disused launch pad to SpaceX, a battle they ultimately lost.
Col. Brian Chatman, the commander of Space Launch Delta 45 — a Space Force unit — confirmed Friday that initial Starship launches could restrict neighboring entities’ access to their launch pads. Space Launch Delta 45, formerly the 45th Space Wing, is responsible for launch safety oversight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
Chatman's unit is tasked with ensuring the safety of all personnel during testing and launch operations and also extends its safety measures to the general public outside the spaceport.
“There is no better time to be here on the Space Coast than where we are at today,” Chatman noted. “We are breaking records on the launch manifest. We are getting capability on orbit essential to national security, and we’re doing that at a time of strategic challenge.”
SpaceX is making significant progress in constructing a Starship launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center within Launch Complex-39A, where Falcon 9 rockets are also launched. Additionally, SpaceX plans to develop another Starship launch facility on Space Force property just a few miles south.
“Early to mid-next year is when we anticipate Starship coming out here to be able to launch,” Chatman stated. “We’ll have the range ready to support at that time.”