SPACE PORT TOO
Blue Origin’s new crane at Port Canaveral another piece to future launch puzzleRichard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel
Thu, November 9, 2023
Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS
PORT CANAVERAL — Blue Origin has staked out its space at Port Canaveral, right next to SpaceX, with a tower crane for eventual rocket booster recovery operations. Now the company just needs to launch one to put it to work.
The crane arrived at the port as cargo from Germany in October adding another puzzle piece to Jeff Bezos’ plans to send up its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36.
“It’s now the highest point in our Port Canaveral as a whole,” said Port Canaveral CEO Capt. John Murray at a port authority meeting last month. “It’s a very, very tall crane and when you look across and you see our mobile harbor crane, it looks very small compared to this Blue Origin crane.”
At 375 feet tall, it towers over the port’s 302-foot-tall crane, both of which are installed at North Cargo Berth 6.
“That’s our crane and a significant milestone as we make rapid progress in New Glenn’s development,” according to an emailed statement from Blue Origin. “The crane will be used to offload New Glenn’s fully reusable first stage from our sea-based landing platform back onto shore in Port Canaveral.”
Those first-stage boosters will be 189 feet tall compared to the SpaceX boosters at about 135 feet.
The entirety of the New Glenn rocket will rise to 322 feet when it launches using seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines to give it nearly 3.9 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
While the company confirmed this month that it is still targeting 2024 for New Glenn’s first launch, that could slip into 2025 as Blue Origin has an engine supply problem to solve.
New Glenn needs seven working BE-4 engines, but it has to supply two engines for each of its customer United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket launches.
“We’ve delivered the first two flight engines and look forward to Vulcan’s first flight later this year,” Blue Origin’s statement reads.
The first ULA mission dubbed Certification-1 with a payload to send Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander to the moon is targeting a Dec. 24 liftoff, but it has a second certification flight in the first half of 2024 that would then allow it to fly several Department of Defense missions in 2024. Vulcan launches are also going to be relied on for dozens of launches it needs to complete before summer 2026 for Bezos’ company Amazon to launch thousands of its Project Kuiper satellites, in itself a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink internet service.
It’s unclear the pace at which Blue Origin can provide the required engines for ULA’s heavy spate of Vulcan flights, although at least one of the two engines for ULA’s second flight were in final assembly at Blue Origin’s Alabama facilities as of August. And while ULA only needs two per launch, Blue Origin has to satisfy its customer in addition to knocking out seven for its first flight.
When it does finally fly, and if it can stick the landing, the rocket is designed for at least 25 reflights, “aligned to our mission of radically reducing launch costs and increasing access to space,” Blue Origin stated.
It also will send up Project Kuiper satellites for Amazon and to support a human landing system featuring Blue Origin’s Blue Moon to support future Artemis missions for NASA.
Construction on the rockets continues at the Blue Origin factory next door to Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex on Merritt Island.
NASA Administrator recently toured the massive Space Coast facility as well as Blue Origin’s engine production operation in Huntsville, Alabama, to check up on progress toward Artemis V currently on NASA’s roadmap for 2029.
“Impressive visit to the [Blue Origin] Huntsville Engine Production Facility,” Nelson wrote on X in October. “NASA is proud to partner with Blue Origin, especially on the Blue Moon human landing system, which will help ensure a steady cadence of astronauts on the Moon to live and work before we venture to Mars.”
At the same time, preparation continues at the reconfigured Launch Complex 36 on the southern end of Cape Canaveral. The company has large enough facilities on site to process three New Glenn rockets at once.
Blue Origin took over the lease for LC-36 in 2015, investing about $1 billion in the pad site alone. It was previously used for government launches from 1962-2005 including lunar lander Surveyor 1 in 1967 and some of the Mariner probes.
When launches finally do occur, the first-stage booster will land about 620 miles downrange in the Atlantic on a landing platform, after which it will make its way back to Port Canaveral where Blue Origin’s new crane will be waiting to start the launch process all over again.
Florida's biggest economic engines, running short on space as key players keep growing
Mel Holt,Charles Frazier
Thu, November 9, 2023 at 3:48 AM MST·2 min read
Canaveral Port Authority officials reviewed the accomplishments of 2023 during their annual State of the Port presentation Wednesday
This year, Port Canaveral saw more cruise passengers, cargo business and revenue than ever before.
However, officials say more passengers and growing demands on other port business also means they’ll be facing some new challenges.
READ: Officials implement safety measures near Lake Minneola High School after student hit, killed by bus
Port Canaveral saw a record 6.8. Million cruise passengers last fiscal year, and they’re still coming.
They anticipate another 7-million cruise passengers will pass through the port next year.
“Honestly, it’s hassle-free,” cruise passenger Viola Rofail said of the experience. “It’s such a great experience with kids especially. I hate flying, going in the airport with kids.”
All the cruise traffic buoyed the port to $158-million in cruise revenue last year.
READ: Brewery in Orlando’s Milk District announces grand opening
The port saw another $21-million in cargo traffic revenue.
Projections for 2024 are also strong. Although the port isn’t anticipating a major bump in cruise revenue, it is expecting more passengers to move through the port, roughly 7.3-million of them.
The port is also navigating its growing cargo and space operations, “optimizing our berth so we can handle space operations and cargo as the launch cadence increases and other players enter the market,” Canaveral Port Authority CEO John Murray said during the presentation.
According to Murray, Port Canaveral is committed to supporting the space industry, but there’s also a need to identify maritime options beyond Port Canaveral.
For months, the port has been involved with the Space Florida Wharf study.
Funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, the study will look at commercial space maritime options beyond the port.
Recommendations are anticipated before the end of this year.
Port Canaveral expanding as 'economic powerhouse,' but faces growing pains
Dave Berman, Florida Today
Thu, November 9, 2023
Fresh off a record-breaking year for cruise, cargo and overall operating revenue, Port Canaveral will continue its momentum during the next two years, Chief Executive Officer John Murray predicted Wednesday, during his annual State of the Port presentation.
But Murray cautioned that the port faces challenges, as it grows its operations in a limited geographic space, necessitating a new cruise terminal, expanded cruise passenger parking and solutions for space-industry companies desiring to use port facilities.
Port Canaveral became the world's busiest cruise port a year ago, topping PortMiami. In the budget year that ended Sept. 30, Port Canaveral had a record $191 million in operating revenue, with $158 million from cruise ships and cruise parking, $21 million from cargo and $12 million from non-ship revenue from such things as real estate leases and recreation. Operating revenue was three times what it was 10 years ago and five times what it was 20 years ago for the 70-year-old port. And it was up from $127 million in 2021-22.
Canaveral Port Authority Chief Executive Officer John Murray gave his annual State of the Port presentation to community leaders Wednesday afternoon in Cruise Terminal 1.
"We are an economic powerhouse," Murray said, with an estimated $6.1 billion economic impact on Florida, including $3 billion in the Central Florida region. Along the Space Coast, for example, hotels, restaurants and retailers benefit financially from Port Canaveral cruise passengers who vacation in the area before or after their cruises.
Murray said he expects similar operating revenue numbers in the 2023-24 budget year that began Oct. 1 ― which he termed a "transitional year" ― before things really accelerate in 2024-25.
Royal Caribbean addition: Allure of the Seas joins Port Canaveral lineup as largest ship with twice-weekly sailings
That's when Celebrity and Princess will join the list of cruise lines with ships based at Port Canaveral, with the Caribbean Princess entering the lineup in November 2024 and the Celebrity Equinox coming in December 2024. In addition, Disney will add a third ship to its Port Canaveral operation in December 2024, with the debut its new Disney Treasure, which is under construction. Also in December 2024, Carnival will add the Venezia to its Port Canaveral fleet.
Other cruise lines with one or more ships based at Port Canaveral are MSC, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.
Canaveral Port Authority Chief Executive Officer John Murray projected strong revenue for the current budget year that began Oct. 1.
With the addition of the Disney Treasure and, in July 2024, Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas, Port Canaveral will have four ships powered by cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas, joining Carnival's Mardi Gras and the Disney Wish.
Murray said, during the winter of 2024-25, Port Canaveral will have at least 16 home-ported ships, up from the peak of 13 in the winters of 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Details on new Disney ship: Disney's new Treasure to debut in 2024 at Port Canaveral with expansive new attractions
Port Canaveral ended its 2022-23 budget year with a record 6.8 million multiday cruise passengers, up from 4.1 million a year earlier. Murray predicts the figure will rise to 7.3 million in the 2023-24. Passengers on home-ported ships are counted twice ― when they board the ship at the beginning of their cruise and when they depart at the end of their cruise. Passengers on ships based elsewhere making port-of-call stops at Port Canaveral are counted once.
Port Canaveral's revenue in the 2022-23 budget year was three times what it was 10 years ago and five times what it was 20 years ago.
The passenger numbers will be even higher in 2024-25, with more and bigger ships entering the lineup. But port officials aren't prepared to make a prediction on how high that number might be.
Murray said cruise lines now are more regularly selecting Port Canaveral, rather than Miami, to debut their newest ships.
"We do have some of the best ships in the world," Murray said. "The bigger ships come to Port Canaveral because we deliver. The ships are full. If we can fill a ship every week, then that's a benefit to the cruise lines."
Challenges with constraints
Murray said one of the biggest challenges for the port is juggling dock space for all its operations.
He said some of Port Canaveral's six cruise terminals will have ships in port five or six days a week in the coming year.
"It really makes our life a lot more challenging to keep up the pace of what we're doing," Murray said during his presentation, held at Cruise Terminal 1 and attended by about 250 community leaders.
To meet those challenges, the port is building two new parking garages this year on the port's north side; added parking lots on the south side; and is starting to plan out construction of a new Cruise Terminal 4/parking garage complex on the south side, near the current site of the Bluepoints Marina, which would be relocated.
About 250 community leaders attended the State of the Port presentation at Port Canaveral's Cruise Terminal 1.
"We need another cruise terminal," Murray said. "If we had it right now, we can fill it up. We need it as soon as we can get it."
The new terminal would have multiple cruise lines as users, Murray said.
Murray noted that "not everyone will be happy" with the displacement of some port tenants to make way for the new cruise terminal. But he pledged to support the commercial fishing industry, including seafood wholesalers and fishing charter captains.
Murray said the port also is making cruise parking more efficient with a pay-on-entry system that speeds up the exit of passengers from parking garages after their cruises. Port parking facilities handled cruise passenger parking for about 840,000 vehicles in the just-ended budget year.
Other challenges, Murray said, are pushing the state to speed up the widening of State Road 528 and replacement of the "functionally obsolete" drawbridges on State Road 401.
Space industry presence
In the area of cargo, Murray said a challenge the port faces is balancing the needs tied to traditional cargo commodities like fuel, aggregates used in construction and lumber, with the growing need of the space industry's booster recovery operations that use port facilities.
Murray said SpaceX is the main user of those facilities, but it is being joined by Blue Origin ― as well as up to 10 additional commercial space companies in the future.
Port Canaveral is planning to spend $182 million in capital improvements during the current budget year.
Space Florida is coordinating a Florida Department of Transportation-funded study of options for wharf space for the launch industry, including looking at land and water access outside of Port Canaveral's boundaries that could be worked into the plan. Space Florida is working with the port, military branches, federal agencies and launch service providers on the study, with final recommendations due by the end of the year.
Among Port Canaveral's capital investments in cargo are the completed North Cargo Berth 3, plus the adjacent North Cargo Berth 4 that now is under construction.
The port is planning to spend $182 million in capital improvements during the current budget year. In addition to the North Cargo Berth 4 construction and portwide parking expansion, the spending involves such things as pier improvements, a new mobile harbor crane, passenger boarding bridge renovations, maintenance dredging, and upgrades to recreation and other public facilities.
"While we made money, we're spending money," Murray said.
One of the big unanswered questions now, Murray said, is whether Port Canaveral will retain its No. 1 spot among cruise ports when the new ranking of passenger volume comes out in early 2024, or if Miami will regain its place on top.
Murray said he's not worried about it, because it is good for the Florida economy to have the two busiest cruise ports, plus likely Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades in the No. 3 slot.
"A rising tide lifts all boats," Murray said.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Growing Port Canaveral faces challenges as it expands
Esther Bower
Wed, November 8, 2023 at 5:25 PM MST·2 min read
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Port Canaveral is running out of space. Cruise, cargo, and space operations are growing rapidly, and the port can only fit so much into 1,100 acres.
In 70 years, Port Canaveral’s gone from a small slice of the Space Coast to an economic engine.
Port Canaveral shattered several records in 2023, in newly released data at the annual State of the Port ceremony on Wednesday. The CEO says, they hosted 6.8 million cruisers, and profits topped $191 million.
"We are running out of space," said Port CEO, John Murray.
They're getting so big that something might need to go. Leaders are struggling to fit in cruise ships, cargo ships, and space operations which all play a crucial part in the port’s overall economic impact.
"We have to manage our growth with defined resources and by defined resources," Murray added. "That’s the biggest challenge for us. We are a very small port, and trying to get bigger is not easy for us."
Port Canaveral helps with rocket recovery and bringing boosters back to shore, but the private space industry is getting busier.
"There could be as many as 10 more launch service providers with maritime assets," the CEO said.
New businesses might need to find another option. Moving forward, the port CEO says they have to maximize every inch of the port for thousands of new parking spaces, a new cruise terminal, and more room for cargo ships.
"Last year, we were pressed for parking here," Murray said. "We had all the employees parked on a dirt lot."
Everyone wants a piece of the world’s busiest cruise port and figuring out how to share the space won’t be easy.
"I don’t think it’s fair to prioritize one versus other," Murray said. "We’re here to generate economic value for the community and the state of Florida, and you do that by having all of these businesses operating."
At the end of the year, a new study will come out from FDOT looking at new options the space industry can use besides Port Canaveral.
Port Canaveral officials report record-breaking year in annual State of the Port presentation
Wed, November 8, 2023 at 5:25 PM MST·2 min read
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Port Canaveral is running out of space. Cruise, cargo, and space operations are growing rapidly, and the port can only fit so much into 1,100 acres.
In 70 years, Port Canaveral’s gone from a small slice of the Space Coast to an economic engine.
Port Canaveral shattered several records in 2023, in newly released data at the annual State of the Port ceremony on Wednesday. The CEO says, they hosted 6.8 million cruisers, and profits topped $191 million.
"We are running out of space," said Port CEO, John Murray.
They're getting so big that something might need to go. Leaders are struggling to fit in cruise ships, cargo ships, and space operations which all play a crucial part in the port’s overall economic impact.
"We have to manage our growth with defined resources and by defined resources," Murray added. "That’s the biggest challenge for us. We are a very small port, and trying to get bigger is not easy for us."
Port Canaveral helps with rocket recovery and bringing boosters back to shore, but the private space industry is getting busier.
"There could be as many as 10 more launch service providers with maritime assets," the CEO said.
New businesses might need to find another option. Moving forward, the port CEO says they have to maximize every inch of the port for thousands of new parking spaces, a new cruise terminal, and more room for cargo ships.
"Last year, we were pressed for parking here," Murray said. "We had all the employees parked on a dirt lot."
Everyone wants a piece of the world’s busiest cruise port and figuring out how to share the space won’t be easy.
"I don’t think it’s fair to prioritize one versus other," Murray said. "We’re here to generate economic value for the community and the state of Florida, and you do that by having all of these businesses operating."
At the end of the year, a new study will come out from FDOT looking at new options the space industry can use besides Port Canaveral.
Port Canaveral officials report record-breaking year in annual State of the Port presentation
Mel Holt,Charles Frazier
Thu, November 9, 2023 at 3:48 AM MST·2 min read
Canaveral Port Authority officials reviewed the accomplishments of 2023 during their annual State of the Port presentation Wednesday
This year, Port Canaveral saw more cruise passengers, cargo business and revenue than ever before.
However, officials say more passengers and growing demands on other port business also means they’ll be facing some new challenges.
READ: Officials implement safety measures near Lake Minneola High School after student hit, killed by bus
Port Canaveral saw a record 6.8. Million cruise passengers last fiscal year, and they’re still coming.
They anticipate another 7-million cruise passengers will pass through the port next year.
“Honestly, it’s hassle-free,” cruise passenger Viola Rofail said of the experience. “It’s such a great experience with kids especially. I hate flying, going in the airport with kids.”
All the cruise traffic buoyed the port to $158-million in cruise revenue last year.
READ: Brewery in Orlando’s Milk District announces grand opening
The port saw another $21-million in cargo traffic revenue.
Projections for 2024 are also strong. Although the port isn’t anticipating a major bump in cruise revenue, it is expecting more passengers to move through the port, roughly 7.3-million of them.
The port is also navigating its growing cargo and space operations, “optimizing our berth so we can handle space operations and cargo as the launch cadence increases and other players enter the market,” Canaveral Port Authority CEO John Murray said during the presentation.
According to Murray, Port Canaveral is committed to supporting the space industry, but there’s also a need to identify maritime options beyond Port Canaveral.
For months, the port has been involved with the Space Florida Wharf study.
Funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, the study will look at commercial space maritime options beyond the port.
Recommendations are anticipated before the end of this year.
Port Canaveral expanding as 'economic powerhouse,' but faces growing pains
Dave Berman, Florida Today
Thu, November 9, 2023
Fresh off a record-breaking year for cruise, cargo and overall operating revenue, Port Canaveral will continue its momentum during the next two years, Chief Executive Officer John Murray predicted Wednesday, during his annual State of the Port presentation.
But Murray cautioned that the port faces challenges, as it grows its operations in a limited geographic space, necessitating a new cruise terminal, expanded cruise passenger parking and solutions for space-industry companies desiring to use port facilities.
Port Canaveral became the world's busiest cruise port a year ago, topping PortMiami. In the budget year that ended Sept. 30, Port Canaveral had a record $191 million in operating revenue, with $158 million from cruise ships and cruise parking, $21 million from cargo and $12 million from non-ship revenue from such things as real estate leases and recreation. Operating revenue was three times what it was 10 years ago and five times what it was 20 years ago for the 70-year-old port. And it was up from $127 million in 2021-22.
Canaveral Port Authority Chief Executive Officer John Murray gave his annual State of the Port presentation to community leaders Wednesday afternoon in Cruise Terminal 1.
"We are an economic powerhouse," Murray said, with an estimated $6.1 billion economic impact on Florida, including $3 billion in the Central Florida region. Along the Space Coast, for example, hotels, restaurants and retailers benefit financially from Port Canaveral cruise passengers who vacation in the area before or after their cruises.
Murray said he expects similar operating revenue numbers in the 2023-24 budget year that began Oct. 1 ― which he termed a "transitional year" ― before things really accelerate in 2024-25.
Royal Caribbean addition: Allure of the Seas joins Port Canaveral lineup as largest ship with twice-weekly sailings
That's when Celebrity and Princess will join the list of cruise lines with ships based at Port Canaveral, with the Caribbean Princess entering the lineup in November 2024 and the Celebrity Equinox coming in December 2024. In addition, Disney will add a third ship to its Port Canaveral operation in December 2024, with the debut its new Disney Treasure, which is under construction. Also in December 2024, Carnival will add the Venezia to its Port Canaveral fleet.
Other cruise lines with one or more ships based at Port Canaveral are MSC, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.
Canaveral Port Authority Chief Executive Officer John Murray projected strong revenue for the current budget year that began Oct. 1.
With the addition of the Disney Treasure and, in July 2024, Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas, Port Canaveral will have four ships powered by cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas, joining Carnival's Mardi Gras and the Disney Wish.
Murray said, during the winter of 2024-25, Port Canaveral will have at least 16 home-ported ships, up from the peak of 13 in the winters of 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Details on new Disney ship: Disney's new Treasure to debut in 2024 at Port Canaveral with expansive new attractions
Port Canaveral ended its 2022-23 budget year with a record 6.8 million multiday cruise passengers, up from 4.1 million a year earlier. Murray predicts the figure will rise to 7.3 million in the 2023-24. Passengers on home-ported ships are counted twice ― when they board the ship at the beginning of their cruise and when they depart at the end of their cruise. Passengers on ships based elsewhere making port-of-call stops at Port Canaveral are counted once.
Port Canaveral's revenue in the 2022-23 budget year was three times what it was 10 years ago and five times what it was 20 years ago.
The passenger numbers will be even higher in 2024-25, with more and bigger ships entering the lineup. But port officials aren't prepared to make a prediction on how high that number might be.
Murray said cruise lines now are more regularly selecting Port Canaveral, rather than Miami, to debut their newest ships.
"We do have some of the best ships in the world," Murray said. "The bigger ships come to Port Canaveral because we deliver. The ships are full. If we can fill a ship every week, then that's a benefit to the cruise lines."
Challenges with constraints
Murray said one of the biggest challenges for the port is juggling dock space for all its operations.
He said some of Port Canaveral's six cruise terminals will have ships in port five or six days a week in the coming year.
"It really makes our life a lot more challenging to keep up the pace of what we're doing," Murray said during his presentation, held at Cruise Terminal 1 and attended by about 250 community leaders.
To meet those challenges, the port is building two new parking garages this year on the port's north side; added parking lots on the south side; and is starting to plan out construction of a new Cruise Terminal 4/parking garage complex on the south side, near the current site of the Bluepoints Marina, which would be relocated.
About 250 community leaders attended the State of the Port presentation at Port Canaveral's Cruise Terminal 1.
"We need another cruise terminal," Murray said. "If we had it right now, we can fill it up. We need it as soon as we can get it."
The new terminal would have multiple cruise lines as users, Murray said.
Murray noted that "not everyone will be happy" with the displacement of some port tenants to make way for the new cruise terminal. But he pledged to support the commercial fishing industry, including seafood wholesalers and fishing charter captains.
Murray said the port also is making cruise parking more efficient with a pay-on-entry system that speeds up the exit of passengers from parking garages after their cruises. Port parking facilities handled cruise passenger parking for about 840,000 vehicles in the just-ended budget year.
Other challenges, Murray said, are pushing the state to speed up the widening of State Road 528 and replacement of the "functionally obsolete" drawbridges on State Road 401.
Space industry presence
In the area of cargo, Murray said a challenge the port faces is balancing the needs tied to traditional cargo commodities like fuel, aggregates used in construction and lumber, with the growing need of the space industry's booster recovery operations that use port facilities.
Murray said SpaceX is the main user of those facilities, but it is being joined by Blue Origin ― as well as up to 10 additional commercial space companies in the future.
Port Canaveral is planning to spend $182 million in capital improvements during the current budget year.
Space Florida is coordinating a Florida Department of Transportation-funded study of options for wharf space for the launch industry, including looking at land and water access outside of Port Canaveral's boundaries that could be worked into the plan. Space Florida is working with the port, military branches, federal agencies and launch service providers on the study, with final recommendations due by the end of the year.
Among Port Canaveral's capital investments in cargo are the completed North Cargo Berth 3, plus the adjacent North Cargo Berth 4 that now is under construction.
The port is planning to spend $182 million in capital improvements during the current budget year. In addition to the North Cargo Berth 4 construction and portwide parking expansion, the spending involves such things as pier improvements, a new mobile harbor crane, passenger boarding bridge renovations, maintenance dredging, and upgrades to recreation and other public facilities.
"While we made money, we're spending money," Murray said.
One of the big unanswered questions now, Murray said, is whether Port Canaveral will retain its No. 1 spot among cruise ports when the new ranking of passenger volume comes out in early 2024, or if Miami will regain its place on top.
Murray said he's not worried about it, because it is good for the Florida economy to have the two busiest cruise ports, plus likely Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades in the No. 3 slot.
"A rising tide lifts all boats," Murray said.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Growing Port Canaveral faces challenges as it expands
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