It is reported that in Florida, next to the launch pad of the SpaceX spacecraft of Elon Musk's space exploration technology company, there is an infrastructure for NASA to send astronauts to the international space station. A NASA official told the media that NASA has asked SpaceX that the launch operation or potential explosion of the Starship spacecraft should not bring risks to the manned launch mission.
Foreign media said that NASA's request may bring more complexity to SpaceX and even delay the launch plan of the Starship spacecraft. It is worth mentioning that the company also has a launch site in Texas, and the launch site is facing a longer period of government regulatory review.
In Musk's view, the Starship spacecraft is a necessary means of transportation for humans to settle on Mars. He hopes that this spacecraft will realize orbital flight as soon as possible. So far, the star ship has not achieved the milestone of orbit flight, and musk has not been able to prove to the outside world that this plan can succeed.
To address NASA's concerns, SpaceX has proposed other ways, such as using other launchers at the Florida launch site to launch astronauts from the international space station. However, it will take several months for this plan to be approved by NASA.
Previously, the main launch site of the Starship was boccachka, Texas, where SpaceX mainly conducted starship R & D and launch. The regulatory review of the launch site is expected to end next week.
Since last year, SpaceX has begun to build a launch site for starship spacecraft in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as a backup site for the boccachka launch site.
It is reported that at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, SpaceX often uses the 39A launcher, which is the only one approved by NASA for manned launch (manned dragon spacecraft). At present, NASA mainly relies on Dragon spacecraft to send astronauts to the international space station.
In recent months, NASA officials told SpaceX that if the Starship spacecraft exploded on the 39A launch pad, it would cut off the access of American astronauts to the international space station.
In an interview with the media, NASA Space Operations Director Kathy Lueders said that SpaceX had a rocket explosion during its early launch NASA has realized that if the Starship explodes on the 39A launch pad, it will have a fatal impact.
SpaceX has not commented on this report.
Two solutions
It is reported that a few hundred meters away from the 39A launch pad, SpaceX has already invested in the construction of a starship spacecraft launch pad. According to people familiar with the matter, SpaceX has provided NASA with a plan to ensure manned launch, that is, to upgrade the existing launch pad No. 40 8 kilometers away from the US Air Force site to send us astronauts.
Rhodes said that SpaceX is also considering another plan, that is, to reinforce the 39A launcher so that it can withstand the possible explosion of the Starship spacecraft or the huge jet of air when the spacecraft is launched.
Whether it is to reinforce the 39A launcher or to send astronauts from the No. 40 launcher, NASA approval is required.
Rhodes said that SpaceX is cooperating with NASA around the two programs. For SpaceX, they also need to ensure that the stable launch service revenue will not be interrupted.
One of the challenges facing SpaceX is to prove that the 39A launcher will not be destroyed by the new liquid oxygen and methane fuels used by the Starship spacecraft. In the past, NASA and other regulators were not familiar with the combination of these two fuels.
Randy repcheck, an official of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, said that the problem now faced is that the outside world does not understand the possibility of the explosion of the two fuels of the Starship spacecraft.