Reformation (noun): a 16th century religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches. What does NewSpace have to do with the Reformation of the 16th Century?
You may already know, but I really enjoy learning about history. Over the summer, I learned about the Reformation where King Henry VIII went against the long established Roman Catholic Church to establish the Church of England. For some, Space is a religious experience, but I couldn't help think that transition from OldSpace (NASA) to NewSpace (private spaceflight industry) was much like the Reformation.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, "An FAA license is required to conduct any commercial space launch or reentry, the operation of any launch or reentry site by U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, or by any individual or entity within the United States." Many NewSpace companies are awaiting approval from the FAA with input from the public, governmental and quasi-governmental agencies to launch from private spaceports. There is currently a draft environmental review for the proposed SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy program in Boca Chica, Texas. The deadline to submit a comments is November 1, 2021 by emailing the FAA at SpaceXBocaChica@icf.com. This process could take months or even years, much like the Reformation of the 16th Century, but hopefully not too long. Stay tuned as I will hopefully be providing updates.
Updated June 2022
The FAA has granted environmental approval for orbital launches from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The next Starship Orbital Flight Test is currently scheduled for July 2022.
Updated April 2023
In my very first post, I mentioned that rocket launches teach us flexibility (as well as patience). On April 20, 2023, the two-stage Starship (SuperHeavy stack), also known as SN24, performed it's maiden orbital test flight.
There were clearly established objectives with this mission, including: first stage separation, softlanding of first stage in the Gulf of Mexico, second stage orbit of Earth before second stage hard landing in the Pacific Ocean near Kauai, Hawaii. There is a learning curve with any maiden flight, as systems are fully integrated for the test flight. Every second after clearing the launch tower provides an abundance of data that will help in preparing for future Starship launches. SpaceX will have about four minutes of data collected before the SN24 mission ended in a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) or fiery explosion just before stage separation. As a standard procedure, the FAA is investigating the explosion but confirms that "no injuries or public property damage have been reported"; thus, closing out this chapter in the New(Space) Reformation.
