Public paper · October 4, 2026 · Space desk
SpaceX Starship at SLC-37: FAA Opens SEIS Scoping on Up to 76 Launches a Year at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
FAA seeks public scoping comments through October 14, 2026 on a Supplemental EIS for SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy operations at Space Launch Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — up to 76 launches and 152 landings a year. Docket FAA-2026-10792.
noticenearby.com/papers/spacex-starship-slc37-seis-scoping-oct-2026.pdf
The Federal Aviation Administration published a Federal Register notice on September 29, 2026 announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) commercial Starship-Super Heavy operations at Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The FAA is asking for public comments on the scope of that SEIS.
Under the Proposed Action, SpaceX would seek a modification to its existing vehicle operator license so the FAA could authorize up to 76 Starship-Super Heavy launches and up to 152 landings per year (up to 76 Super Heavy booster landings and up to 76 Starship landings), including return-to-launch-site and ocean landings. The FAA’s federal action also includes temporary airspace closures tied to those operations.
Comment clock
- Scoping comments due: October 14, 2026.
- Docket: FAA-2026-10792 on regulations.gov.
- Stakeholder page: https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship_ccsfs
- Mail option listed in the notice: Ms. Eva Long, FAA Environmental Protection Specialist, c/o ICF, 1902 Reston Metro Plaza, Reston, VA 20190.
What this SEIS adds
The Department of the Air Force already completed a 2025 Final EIS and Record of Decision covering redevelopment of SLC-37 and up to 76 launches / 152 landings a year. The FAA participated as a cooperating agency then but did not issue its own ROD because SpaceX had not yet asked the FAA to modify the vehicle operator license for SLC-37 Starship-Super Heavy ops.
The 2025 DAF EIS did not fully analyze temporary airspace closures, DOT Section 4(f) resources, or a proposed contingency landing area in the Atlantic. The FAA SEIS is meant to fill those gaps and other licensing-related effects before the FAA decides on a license modification under 14 CFR part 400.
How to read this notice
- It is a Notice of Intent / scoping window — not a final license decision and not a Draft SEIS yet.
- The SEIS will evaluate the Proposed Action and a No Action Alternative (no FAA license modification / no related airspace closures for SLC-37 Starship-Super Heavy).
- NASA Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station remain the regional launch neighborhood; this paper is about the FAA commercial space licensing path at SLC-37.
Sources
- Federal Register (Sept. 29, 2026), Document 2026-19897, 91 FR 61551: FAA Notice of Intent to prepare SEIS and open public scoping — SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy at SLC-37, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19897/office-of-commercial-space-transportation-notice-of-intent-to-prepare-a-supplemental-environmental
- FAA stakeholder page: https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship_ccsfs
- regulations.gov Docket FAA-2026-10792
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Notes and sources
- Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
- Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending — fill xPostUrl after live post).
- Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Space desk · Notice Nearby public papers shelf. @NoticeNearYou post pending.
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).