Space Florida, state propose new launch pads for Space Coast

TITUSVILLE — An experimental space plane and other small rockets could blast off from a new pad at Kennedy Space Center, and boosters could begin landing at the spaceport, under state proposals now under review by NASA.

Space Florida wants to develop Launch Complex 48 to support Boeing’s Phantom Express, the winner of a competition to demonstrate quick-turnaround launches for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

In addition, the state has proposed building three landing pads at KSC to provide more options for SpaceX or Blue Origin boosters returning from space, and possibly other reusable vehicles, Kennedy Space Center’s master plan shows the proposed locations of a new Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) and landing pads, designated by a beige oval east of the notional LC-49.

“We see a need,” said Jim Kuzma, senior vice president and general manager at Space Florida. “We’re continuing to assess anywhere where we think the infrastructure is going to be stressed as the launch cadence continues to increase.”

Launch Complex 48 would be tucked in between KSC’s pad 39A, now operated by SpaceX, and Launch Complex 41 to the south, the home of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The landing pads would be located near the northern edge of the center’s secure perimeter.

Both sites are highlighted in KSC’s master plan as available to be developed for those uses, and NASA had solicited interest. Each project would be subject to further environmental review.

Boeing has not officially selected a launch site for its 100-foot-tall Phantom Express, but all indications point to KSC or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, with a first launch now targeted for 2021.

A version of a space shuttle main engine would power the unmanned vehicle’s reusable, winged booster through the atmosphere. After deploying an expendable second stage with a payload, the booster would return for a runway landing, likely at KSC’s former Shuttle Landing Facility, now operated by Space Florida.

Boeing staffs numerous former shuttle facilities at KSC, including an engine shop and three hangars, supporting the Air Force’s X-37B reusable space plane and CST-100 Starliner commercial