SpaceX says it could launch Starship soon if the FAA lets it

The SpaceX Starship launches on its fourth flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on June 6, 2024 - Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP (Getty Images)
The SpaceX Starship launches on its fourth flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on June 6, 2024 - Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP (Getty Images)

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has said it could launch its next test of the Starship megarocket as soon as Oct. 13 — as long as it gets regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Starship, a fully reusable, 400-foot rocket, has been tested four times since its first attempt in April 2023, which failed. Its third test created a wealth of data that showed a lack of any critical safety issues, according to the FAA, although its upper stage fell to pieces on reentry and the company was forced to explode the Super Heavy booster above the Gulf of Mexico.

The company’s latest attempt occurred in June and was largely successful; it marked the rocket’s Super Heavy Booster’s first-ever successful splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship’s first successful landing burn before it plummeted into the Indian Ocean.

The fifth attempt will seek to attempt the first-ever return to launch site and booster catch, as well as another reentry and landing burn for Starship. SpaceX said its engineers have completely reworked the ship’s heat shield to help the rocket land in the ocean.

For the “catch,” SpaceX will be looking to employ the “chopstick” arms of its launch tower at its site in Texas known as Starbase. SpaceX posted a video in June demonstrating the arms closing around a Super Heavy booster resting on the launch mount.

“With each flight building on the learnings from the last, testing improvements in hardware and operations across every facet of Starship, we’re on the verge of demonstrating techniques fundamental to Starship’s fully and rapidly reusable design,” SpaceX said in a statement.

But it’s unclear whether SpaceX will actually launch its megarocket Sunday, given its issues with the FAA. Last month, SpaceX criticized the agency and said its regulations were holding the company back, adding that the FAA pushed back its fifth Starship test from September to late November because of “superfluous environmental analysis.”

The FAA also proposed fining SpaceX a total of $633,009 over a series of issues last year. Musk responded by accusing the regulator of committing “lawfare” and announcing his company would sue over the fines. In a letter to members of Congress, SpaceX has said it “forcefully rejects” the FAA’s reasoning for the fines.

Sunday, the FAA said it was approving a singular mission for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket after a mission last week failed to hit its planned target on reentry. The approved mission launched Monday morning.

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