SpaceX gets FAA approval for do-over Starship launch
SPACEX received approval for the second launch of its groundbreaking Starship rocket, ending an almost seven-month hiatus and inching Elon Musk closer to his goal of sending humans to the moon and beyond.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reinstated SpaceX’s Starship launch license, the agency said on Wednesday (Nov 15). It noted that “SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.” SpaceX applied for and received authorisation for one launch, the agency added.
SpaceX said in a social media post it was targeting a launch on Friday at 7.00 am local time from its site in Boca Chica, Texas.
Starship – the largest and most powerful rocket ever developed – is key to Musk’s ambitions of carrying payloads and people to distant destinations such as the moon and Mars. Starship will also be used for launching the company’s next-generation Starlink satellites meant to increase the capacity of the internet-from-space initiative.
The approval is an important milestone for SpaceX after the agency grounded the rocket in the wake of its first test flight on Apr 20. During that flight, Starship successfully took off from its Texas launchpad but suffered multiple engine failures as it ascended into the sky. The rocket then failed to separate as planned and started spinning out of control, prompting SpaceX to intentionally blow it up.
The launch itself also damaged SpaceX’s launchpad and spread debris and pulverised concrete across hundreds of acres of terrain.
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The FAA oversaw a mishap investigation of the launch, which the agency closed in September. In its final investigation report, the FAA called on SpaceX to make 63 corrective actions designed to prevent similar failures and damage from happening during future Starship launches.
The license indicates that the FAA is satisfied with the modifications SpaceX has made to its rocket and launchpad. Among the changes, SpaceX has staged multiple tests of a so-called water deluge system that blasts water upward during launch to offset the intense forces.
Environmental groups sued the FAA in May, saying the agency hastily approved SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility. The FAA has said it does not comment on ongoing litigation matters.
Officials with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) visited the launch site and privately expressed disbelief at the level of damage.
In order to grant the new Starship launch license, the FWS conducted a formal review of the upgrades SpaceX made to its launch site, with much of the focus centred on the water deluge system. The agency said it finished its biological assessment on Nov 14 and concluded its formal consultation with the FAA.
In October, a SpaceX vice-president testified before Congress that the lengthy license approval process was preventing the company from flying Starship as quickly as possible. BLOOMBERG
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