Shiloh, le KSC du privé (Plans & construction)

A proposed state-run launch complex inside Kennedy Space Center has drawn strong interest from another growing private space firm, public records show. Blue Origin says Space Florida’s proposed “Shiloh” site would be a good fit for tests of a reusable booster and eventual launches of cargo and crews to orbit. “Blue Origin is keenly interested in conducting orbital launch operations at the Shiloh facility,” the company said in response to state request for information from interested launch providers.

Blue Origin was the only company to respond in writing to the state’s request by a deadline last month. However, Space Florida says it has held discussions with SpaceX and at least one other firm it has not identified. The state’s aerospace development agency last year asked NASA to give it roughly 150 acres in the former citrus community of Shiloh, just inside the northern border of KSC and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near the Brevard-Volusia county line.

If it moves forward, the Shiloh complex could house one or two pads for launches of non-government missions. SpaceX has publicly stated its interest in a pad operated independently from NASA and the Air Force, and is scouting suitable locations in several states. Blue Origin also strongly endorsed the idea that commercial and government missions should have separate, dedicated launch facilities, similar to commercial and military aircraft. Blue Origin said it plans about 12 orbital launches a year, on average, but offered no timeframe.

(Source: Florida Today)
The 140,000-acre Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, set aside by NASA as a buffer for launch operations at KSC, has become proof to many that high-tech and wildlife can coexist. NASA asked for appropriations for the early land buys on Merritt Island in 1961 to support the Apollo program. The land would eventually become the Kennedy Space Center.

The space agency bought much of the Merritt Island refuge’s land for more launch pads that never materialized. Naturalist Allan Cruickshank, who worked for the Audubon Society, prodded NASA officials to let the Fish and Wildlife Service take over managing the lands. This year, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge marks 50 years of wildlife protection around the Kennedy Space Center.

Editor's Note: The refuge is indeed proof that launch activities can be conducted in a manner that protects the nearby environment. The refuge is home to a great number of protected species, attracts one million visitors annually, and serves as an extremely well-instrumented site for environmental monitoring and research. Space Florida seeks about 150 of the 140,000 acres for a "Shiloh" launch complex that would continue this tradition of stewardship

NASA spent some $150 million to shore-up their Wallops Island spaceport after Hurricane Sandy's storm surge damaged some of the service areas and facilities around the new Antares launch pad. This damage was likely one cause of the launch pad's delayed availability to Orbital Sciences for its first Antares mission. Beach erosion and storm surge from summer hurricanes are chronic problems for Wallops Island and at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, but Texas' proposed Boca Chica launch site could be particularly vulnerable.

The Boca Chica site has clearly seen its share of water coming over the dunes, as shown in this aerial shot of the site, and this satellite image. If SpaceX builds a launch pad there, they'll have to do some serious storm-proofing--something that has already been done at existing Cape Canaveral launch pads--and even then they could see their investment washed away with another direct-hit in the Brownsville area.

Meanwhile, the Shiloh site proposed for SpaceX and other users in Florida sits across the Indian River from a barrier island, and is at a higher elevation than Boca Chica. Among the options being reviewed by SpaceX, only Georgia's proposed spaceport site might offer better natural protection from hurricane storm surge, but this site is also vulnerable.

Sidjay a écrit:En supposant que SpaceX y construise une rampe de lancement à cet endroit-là, elle devra par conséquent inclure dans ses frais généraux, la construction/rénovation de tout un tas d’infrastructures « anti tempêtes » afin d’éviter le pire pour le bon écoulement du sacro-saint manifeste de lancement, autrement dit, les retards à répétition.
Anticiper et financer lorsque l’on s’appel « SpaceX » et que l’on a des fonds sous l’coude c’est bien, mais n’oublions pas que ce genre de protections (aussi onéreuses que possible) ont déjà été construites à proximité des rampes de lancement de Cap Canaveral depuis déjà de nombreuses années et qu’une utilisation du site spatial de Shilho (nd du KSC), permettrait donc à la firme de rester dans ses frais et d’éventuellement préserver « un faible cout » de l’accès à l’espace à ses clients.