I read more of the FAA EA (still 6MB) for OSIDA's spaceport at BFV in CSIA.* The most interesting things I found were the fuel and noise calculations for concepts X, Y and Z. I don't really like those designators. Concept X, let's change to concept R. Concept R has a maximum number of launches proposed of 12 in 2006, 12 in 2007, 24 in 2008, 48 in 2009, and 48 in 2010 (p. 4-2). Concept R runs on LOX and RP-1 (4-47) and needs an estimated 5761 kg of LOX and 2404 kg of RP-1. Concept R takes off and lands with a jet engine (4-39) reaches Mach 1 at 9144m (4-40), drops back to Mach 1 at 99,670m and speeds back up to Mach 1 at the same altitude and slows back down to Mach 1 at 16,459m. All these values are approximate. Let's suppose concept R starts charging $200,000 per seat in 2008. If they sell three seats at that price per flight, they could expect $14.4 million in revenue at this airport in the first year of commercial operation and $28.8 million in their second and third. I am not sure how the maxes of 12 flights in each of the first two years square with a 25-flight test program with a maiden launch in July 2007. Perhaps they will fly out of other spaceports, have some non-rocket flights, or up the maximum number out of Burns Flat.

I don't like the letter for concept Y either. Let's call it X'. Concept X' is scheduled to fly two times per year 2006-2010 (4-2). X' does not exceed Mach 1 (4-38). Concept X' runs on LOX and kerosene or alcohol (4-47). Concept X' has rocket takeoff and glide landing with 1800 lbs thrust (4-40).

I don't like the letter for concept Z as you might have guessed. Let's call it concept V. Concept V has max 2 flights in 2006 and 2007 with 3, 4 and 4 in 2008-2010. Concept V vehicles (sic) will take off with a jet engine (4-39). They will carry Jet-A fuel for the carrier vehicle and 1295kg N₂O and some HTPB for the launch vehicle (4-47) (laughing gas and rubber).

You can see pictures of concept R, X' and V on pages 2-11, 14 and 17 (although V has an Andrews Space Technology logo in the corner even if there might be a "Virgin" on the side of the carrier--it could be a SpaceDev HL-20 but the two tails and canard on the carrier scale back my expectations of that), and the picture of X' looks like a Xerus instead of a Velocity and concept R has only one tail instead of two).

In layman's terms? Expect there to be some kind of attempt at a rocket show in Burns Flat. Rocketplane is getting their spaceport. Hard to say what this means for business as the EA process was started in 2002.

*FAA=Federal Aviation Administration, EA=Environmental Assessment, OSIDA=Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority, BFV=the little known designator of the Burns Flat Vortac which I am guessing at to try to be cute, CSIA=Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark

--Update 2006-02-18 09:18

--Update 2006-02-18 09:46

It's actually a Gryphon Aerospace Plane from Andrews. Probably should be concept G.

Ok, I don't get it. Why relabel X, Y, and Z as R, X, and V. What's the meaning?

Sorry, that was me above.

X=Rocketplane, Y=XCOR, Z=Andrews best I can tell.

I think concept V is going to see a hell of a lot more launches than you propose.

Concept V. Sure. Just not in OK according to the EA.