Rival Pushback: SpaceX’s Starship Expansion Faces Resistance at Cape Canaveral

 By; Mwaniki Justin

The Common Pulse | August 2025

SpaceX’s ambitions for its Starship rocket extend well beyond its Texas home base in Boca Chica. Elon Musk’s company has proposed conducting up to 120 Starship launches per year from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a move that would turn the world’s busiest spaceport into a hub for the largest rocket ever built. But while SpaceX sees this as the next step toward routine access to space and interplanetary travel, competitors and regulators are raising red flags.

Rivals Cry Foul

Companies like United Launch Alliance (ULA), Blue Origin, and Relativity Space are pushing back, warning that SpaceX’s plan could cripple their launch operations. Their concern? Starship’s sheer size and power would trigger extensive safety lockdowns around launch facilities, delaying or even grounding other rockets.

A single Starship launch requires wide safety perimeters and extended closures of airspace and sea lanes. Multiply that by 120 launches a year, roughly one every three days, and rival companies argue Cape Canaveral could effectively become a one-rocket spaceport dominated by SpaceX.

Environmental and Safety Concerns

It isn’t just rivals who are sounding alarms. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Space Force are now reviewing the potential impacts of such a high-volume launch schedule. Key issues under scrutiny include:

• Sonic booms from Starship’s massive reentry maneuvers.

• Risks from methane-fueled Raptor engines, which are louder and more powerful than those of traditional rockets.

• Cumulative effects on local wildlife and coastal communities near Cape Canaveral.

The Bigger Picture

For Musk, the expansion is essential. SpaceX needs multiple launch pads to support its long-term goals: building out Starlink’s global satellite network, powering NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon, and eventually attempting crew and cargo flights to Mars.

But for competitors, the plan raises uncomfortable questions about fair access to America’s primary launch complex. If Starship launches dominate the schedule, smaller companies could see their missions delayed, threatening their business models.

A Battle for the Future of the Cape

Cape Canaveral has long been symbolic of America’s space ambitions, from Apollo to Shuttle to today’s commercial space race. The fight over Starship’s expansion is more than just a scheduling dispute, it’s a battle over who gets to shape the future of human spaceflight.

If the FAA and Space Force approve the proposal, Cape Canaveral could transform into a launch hub geared around Musk’s super-rocket. If not, SpaceX may face constraints that slow its aggressive timelines. Either way, the outcome will ripple across the space industry for years to come.