[ad_1]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — As the Space Coast continues to see an uptick in rocket launches — and the potential for new, more powerful rockets on the way — the city of Cape Canaveral has begun a study of the potential impacts.
Officials say there is concern over the possibility of long-term damage to homes, buildings and cars due to strong vibrations.
Resident Lillian Myers said she documented her windows shaking during a recent Falcon 9 launch.
She said she’s worried about what could happen in the future as hundreds of more powerful Space X Starship rockets will be blasting off.
Experts say Starships are 10 times more powerful than the company’s smaller Falcon 9 rockets.
It’s something Cape Canaveral resident Myers is well aware of.
She began noticing small issues beginning to happen in her renovated fourth-floor condo on the Banana River.
“Baseboards starting to come away, small cracks to appear, windows beginning to separate that had just been put in,” Myers said.
Working the tech field, she says she put two and two together and realized what the cause was: Each time a rocket launched, her unit, and the entire building rattled.
She started recording the sound of her windows rattling with her phone.
“Then I realized there were so many more launches than there ever were before,” she said. “The vibration, the sound, the very, very shallow water on the peninsula that surrounds this building, means mean lots of acoustic vibration.”
Myers brought her concerns to Cape Canaveral City Council.
The Council approved a study to monitor impacts of rocket launches on the city’s infrastructure.
“This is our first step to try and understand what is exactly happening in regard to the rocket launches that are occurring right next door”, Chief Resilience Manager Zach Eichholz told Council members.
A proposed plan involves installing sensors around the city to measure sound levels, structural vibrations and even air quality impacts during launches.
In 2024 a record 93 launches blasted off from the Space Coast.
A study done by the Florida Spaceport System Maritime Intermodal Transportation group says by 2053, the area could see 571 launches each year — a number that would eventually increase to 1,252 launches a year.
Powerful Starship flights and booster landings will encompass most of them.
Myers hopes residents like her will get involved, and even record what’s happening in their homes during launches.
She also encouraged the space launch companies to put together a fund to help residents cover costs of future damage caused by the rumbling rockets.
“To help us rectify issues as they occur,” Myers said.
Cape Canaveral is encouraging residents to give public comment to the latest environmental impact statement and future Starship operations.
[ad_2]
Greg Pallone
Source link