"But launch pad availability is not the only hurdle limiting how many Falcon 9 flights can take off in a year. There's also the rate of production for Falcon 9 upper stages, which are new on each flight, and the time it takes for each vessel in SpaceX's fleet of drone ships (one in California, two in Florida) to return to port with a recovered booster and redeploy back to sea again for the next mission."
"To do that, the FAA also gave the green light Wednesday for SpaceX to construct and operate a new rocket landing zone at SLC-40 and conduct up to 34 first-stage booster landings there each year. The landing zone will consist of a 280-foot diameter concrete pad surrounded by a 60-foot-wide gravel apron. The landing zone's broadest diameter, including the apron, will measure 400 feet."
"When a Falcon 9 booster does return to landing on land, it targets one of SpaceX's recovery zones at military-run spaceports in Florida and California. SpaceX's landing zone at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is close to the Falcon 9 launch pad there. The Space Force wants SpaceX, and potentially other future reusable rocket companies, to replicate the side-by-side launch and landing pads at Cape Canaveral."
SpaceX aims to conduct roughly 170 Falcon 9 launches this year, with most flights carrying Starlink broadband satellites. The FAA granted environmental approval that enables more flights from the company's busiest launch pad. Launch cadence is limited by launch pad availability, production rates for Falcon 9 upper stages, and the turnaround time of drone ships that recover boosters at sea. SpaceX conducts most recoveries on offshore drone ships and uses military-run onshore landing zones in Florida and California for some missions. The FAA approved a new 280-foot landing pad at SLC-40 for up to 34 landings per year, and planning is underway for an LC-39A landing pad.
Read at Ars Technica
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