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Shuttle Landing Facility changes for Stratolaunch & XCOR

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  • Shuttle Landing Facility changes for Stratolaunch & XCOR

    Of course the 15,000 ft (4,572 meter) long Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) runway is more needed for the gigantic Stratolaunch air-launch mothership with it's huge 385 foot wingspan, six 747 engines (!!) and Orbital Sciences/ATK Pegasus II launcher.

    XCOR's Lynx spaceplane is nowhere near as demanding.

    http://www.floridatoday.com/story/ne...ermit/8710067/

    NASA has applied for a federal permit to dredge and fill 40 acres of wetlands that link to the Indian River Lagoon to pave the way for commercial spacecraft that could launch and land where the space shuttle once touched down.

    The application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is an early step toward readying the old shuttle strip for commercial launches, as NASA enters negotiations to have Space Florida take over the shuttle runway.

    Space Florida — the agency responsible for promoting aerospace in the Sunshine State — wants to build new infrastructure at the former shuttle landing strip to support future commercial spaceflight endeavors such as XCOR Aerospace and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s planned Stratolaunch Systems. Those efforts deliver suborbital rockets by taking off and landing like planes, rather than via vertical launch pads.

    “Space Florida can help finance the infrastructure to run power and utilities and stormwater a long distance out there to accommodate future growth,” said Dale Ketcham, director of strategic alliances for Space Florida.

    Last year, NASA announced its intent to transfer control of the Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida, saving the space agency $2 million yearly in operations and maintenance.

    “We’re going to be negotiating with NASA for quite some time,” Ketcham said of the process that he anticipates will begin in a few weeks.

    The project would fill almost 36 acres of wetlands and 5 acres of surface waters to develop two future tenant sites with aircraft hangars, aircraft aprons, taxiways, buildings, parking, utilities, roadways and stormwater ponds, according to the corps’ public notice.

    NASA is asking for a 10-year permit for the project.
    >
    SLF


    Stratolaunch mothership & Pegasus II

    XCOR Lynx II
    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 6 May 2014, 02:52.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Yeah,that sucker is going to need a longer run to take off. Probably more than long enough to land when payload is gone.

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