Building a second Dragon launch pad is something that SpaceX and NASA are doing.

Sunday, October 2, 2022 | Chimniii Desk

NASA officials confirmed that they are moving forward with plans to modify the company's second Florida launch pad to support Crew and Cargo Dragon missions. After NASA raised concerns about the risks posed by plans to operate its next-generation Starship rocket out of the only pad available for Dragon, SpaceX began studying the possibility of modifying its Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-40 pad for Dragon missions. Three months later, the partners have committed to that plan and hardware for the required modifications is already in work. After a false start in the beginning of the year, the company began building its first Florida launch site at the LC-39A pad.

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Pad 39A is the only site currently capable of launching Crew and Cargo Dragon on Falcon 9 rockets thanks to a series of modifications and additions to existing Space Shuttle infrastructure. Located just 1000 feet east of 39A's existing Falcon and Dragon launch facilities and access tower, Starship is unlikely to have much of an impact during nominal operations, but the program has a history of building prototypes that occasionally explode. The only craft capable of sustaining NASA's presence at the International Space Station is the Crew Dragon from SpaceX. The first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule is scheduled to take place in February of 2020. If the CTF is not flawless, Starliners first operational astronauts transport mission could slip into 2024.

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Both of Starliner's uncrewed test flights have uncovered significant issues that required months of additional work to fix. After a Falcon 9 rocket exploded at LC-40, it took 15 months for the pad to be rebuilt. If Pad 39A's Falcon and Dragon facilities were destroyed by a Starship launch within the next 18 months, it could threaten NASA's ability to maintain the International Space Station. Even if there was a high risk of the new rocket failing and harming Dragon operations, NASA is in the business of ensuring that contingencies exist in case of unlikely but catastrophic events.

It doesn't matter if Starliner is ready to take over or if Starship won't explode. The risk is always there and NASA must be ready for that. The nature of the modifications that LC-40 will require is not known. More likely than not, NASA will require the development of something similar to Pad 39A's facilities. It would include building a new tower, crew access arm, escape system, and an on-site shelter for astronauts. There is a good chance that NASA will require that a backup Dragon launch pad be in place before the launch of the spaceship from Pad 39A. The first Florida Starship launch was delayed by CEO Musk.

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It is highly unlikely that LC-40 will be modified by Q2 2023. The construction project on a high-security military base will have to be done within the blast radius of the single most active launch pad in the world. The lead times for custom hardware could be significant. It will take more time than it would under normal circumstances if LC-40 is not allowed to have up to 100 Falcon launches in 2023.