February 16th - February 22nd

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Port Canaveral Struggles to Juggle Spaceport and Seaport Launches

With the increasing frequency of rocket launches from Florida’s Space Coast, Port Canaveral is working hard to ensure smooth sailing for ever more cruise ships from the central Florida homeport. With both the busiest spaceport in the United States and the world’s second-busiest cruise port trying to operate in the same space, it can be a challenge to protect launch windows and keep ships sailing on time. The coming months are poised to be record-breaking, both for the spaceport and the seaport. With different companies scheduling more launches than ever, there may be close to 100 launches from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in 2023. This includes launches from SpaceX, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance, and NASA.

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Sabah seeks to put Malaysia on world map as new space launch site

Sabah is hoping to use its strategic location at the equator to build the world’s 16th space launching facility, which would make Malaysia only the ninth country to do so now. State Science, Technology and Innovation minister Datuk Arifin Arif announced that the state Cabinet has green-lit a feasibility study towards this goal, adding that a letter of intent will be awarded to Sovereign Sengalang Sdn Bhd.

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South Korea to work on building Thailand’s first spaceport

The Republic of Korea and Thailand have agreed to work together on a Thai spaceport. If successful, this project could become a crucial driver for the growth of Thailand’s economy, with the aviation and aerospace industries playing pivotal roles. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency has announced that it has signed an agreement to conduct the feasibility study on building and launching a spaceport in the country with Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The partnership signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation in Bangkok on February 13.

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FAA forecasts surging commercial launch activity

The Federal Aviation Administration forecasts that commercial launches it licenses could more than double in the next several years, putting an additional strain on the handful of spaceports that host them. The forecast was included in a National Spaceports Policy report that the FAA submitted to Congress earlier in the month. The report, required by a provision of the 2018 FAA reauthorization act, was designed to evaluate space transportation needs and propose policies for supporting spaceport development.

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New Mexico Spaceport Authority Plans New Building at Spaceport America

With Virgin Galactic (once again) promising that suborbital tourism flights from Spaceport America in New Mexico are right around the corner, the authority that oversees the facility has decided it needs a brand new building there. The Spaceport Technology and Reception Center’s mission “will be to become the welcoming face to staff, visitors, and prospective customers visiting or working at Spaceport America.

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NEW Weekly Jargonbusters: A Quick Guide for Spaceport Related Lingo!

Term: Specific Impulse (noun):

Parameter for rating the performance of a rocket engine. Indicates how many pounds or kilograms of thrust are obtained by consumption of a pound or kilogram of propellant in one second.

Term: Plug nozzle (noun):

A doughnut-shaped combustion chamber which discharges engine gases against the surface of a short central cone (the plug). Adapted in the form of an LH2 cooled heat shield, it can be used as a combination rocket/aerodynamic braking device.

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