No rocket rumble for 6 weeks.
California has surpassed Florida's yearly rocket launch total for the first time in decades. That’s the result of SpaceX has shifting its Falcon 9 Starlink missions to Vandenberg. And now SpaceX has paused all Florida rocket launches for 6 weeks. We’e grown accustomed to the sound of rocket rumble as Falcon 9 took off regularly from the Cape. But the last launch from the state was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Oct. 20. SpaceX is preparing for the debut of its massive Starship rocket from Florida. To date, the world's largest rocket, standing at more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, has launched 14 times from South Texas. Starship launch infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A is just about complete.
SpaceX is also planning a 3,300-employee facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The campus, to be completed by 2045, will support manufacturing, production, refurbishment and warehousing of Starship rockets. The development plan is outlined in a NASA draft environmental assessment.
Florida Tech Wins Grant to Expand Character Education.
Florida Tech has received nearly $600,000 to develop a character education initiative. It’s designed to help students build qualities such as curiosity, creativity, integrity, and teamwork alongside their technical skills. Florida Tech is one of 49 institutions nationwide selected for the grant, funded by Lilly Endowment.
Epstein Bookmobile tours Florida.
The Trump-Epstein Bookmobile brings all 3 million pages on a tour of Florida. WFIT’s Terri Wright has details.
A bookmobile containing millions of pages of Jeffrey Epstein's investigative files is touring the country.
A nonprofit, nonpartisan tour featuring survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse is calling for the release of remaining investigative files and greater transparency and accountability. The tour visited Sanford and Kissimmee earlier this week, with stops planned for St. Petersburg and Tampa October 29th, St. Petersburg October 30th, and West Palm Beach November 1st. President Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in his association with Epstein and has not faced charges related to the investigation.
Outro: In August, a federal judge warned the Justice Department it must comply with a transparency law requiring the release of remaining Epstein files or face potential penalties.
Coastal flood warning still in effect.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne says that a coastal flood warning and high surf advisory remains in effect until early Friday morning for Space Coast Beaches. Meteorologist Megan Borowski from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network says that there are several factors increasing the risk for local flooding,
Right so there’s a few things at play right now… first we have the King Tide occurring. The moon is full AND it’s at its closest proximity to earth in its orbit which and that’s enhancing the natural tidal levels. On top of that, a coastal low nearby is sustaining blustery winds are onshore from the northeast, which is helping to further increase water levels. Widespread coastal flooding is expected to persist through the weekend, particularly at high tide times.
Megan says that those high tide times will generally range between 10 AM and 1 PM and between 10 PM and 1 AM each day through the weekend. She says that strong northeasterly winds will keep wave heights high and that boating will be difficult. Megan says that rip currents and rough surf are creating dangerous conditions at area beaches, and that we should avoid entering the water until the pattern calms.
