Starship Another Step Closer to Second Test Flight

SpaceX’s Starship is another step closer today to getting an FAA license to attempt a second orbital flight test. The FAA announced the company has completed all the required corrective actions following its first failed launch in April. Environmental regulators still need to give their approval, however.

SpaceX is eager to fly Starship again as part of a series of tests to make the huge 120-meter (394-foot) tall rocket operational. Not only will Starship be used to launch satellites to Earth orbit, including for SpaceX’s own Starlink system, but is a critical element of NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. Starship will be the Human Landing System for the Artemis III mission currently scheduled for launch at the end of 2025, the first time NASA astronauts will set foot on the Moon since the Apollo program. Artemis IV in 2028 also will use Starship HLS.

At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s Vice President for Build and Reliability, warned that government regulations were slowing Starship’s development and could lead to China getting ahead of the United States. He said Starship is ready now for the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT), also called an Integrated Flight Test (IFT), and is just waiting on the FAA license.

The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, FAA/AST, regulates, facilitates and promotes commercial space launches and reentries. Starship is a two-stage vehicle. The first stage is “Super Heavy” and the second stage is “Starship,” but the combination is also commonly referred to as Starship. The FAA, however, refers to it as Starship-Super Heavy.

FAA/AST closed its mishap investigation of the April 20 Starship-Super Heavy test flight on September 8 and identified 63 corrective actions SpaceX had to made, 57 of them before it could issue a license for OFT-2. In an emailed statement today, it said its safety review now is closed, but not the environmental consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The FAA completed the safety review portion of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy license evaluation on Oct. 31.

Background

A safety review is focused on issues that affect public health and safety of property. It consists of evaluating the applicant’s safety organization, system safety processes, flight safety analysis, and quantitative risk criteria for launch, reentry, and vehicle disposal.

The FAA is continuing to work on the environmental review. As part of its environmental review, the FAA is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an updated Biological Assessment under the Endangered Species Act. The FAA and the USFWS must complete this consultation before the environmental review portion of the license evaluation is completed.

In a later statement to SpacePolicyOnline.com, FAA/AST clarified the only remaining requirement is the environmental review.

SpaceX has completed all corrective actions as required by the mishap investigation report. The environmental review is the last major element of the license evaluation process.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated its review on October 19 and has 135 days to provide its assessment. Just after the launch failure, the FWS reported “numerous concrete chunks, stainless steel sheets, metal and other objects hurled” from the launch pad, which was pulverized by the force of the 33 first stage engines.

SpaceX has completely redesigned the launch pad using steel instead of concrete plus a water deluge system and that is one focus of the USFWS’s review.

Several environmental groups are suing the FAA for not adequately implementing its environmental review responsibilities before issuing the license for the April launch.