SpaceX’s Starship—the Most Powerful Rocket in History

Starship has been grounded since April after its maiden voyage ended in an explosion, but the massive spacecraft is getting closer to a second test flight.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, November 01, 2023 at 02:25 PM ET

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SpaceX’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy Booster are stacked on the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, launch pad. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has completed the safety review portion of its evaluation for a modified SpaceX Starship launch license, a key step after closing the mishap investigation from its inaugural flight.
The agency is now conducting an environmental review with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focusing on the impact to wildlife and assessing a new water deluge system installed at the Starbase launch pad.
Despite regulatory progress, the FAA faces an ongoing lawsuit from environmental groups challenging the adequacy of the original environmental assessment (PEA), potentially requiring a more extensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that could delay future launches.
SpaceX states Starship is ready to fly pending license modification, even as the FAA navigates these final regulatory steps and legal challenges.

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Since its inaugural launch, SpaceX’s Starship rocket has been grounded while the FAA conducted a mishap investigation, which finally closed in September. This week, the agency completed another key step toward issuing a modified launch license for Starship, which would return the spacecraft to action.

“The FAA completed the safety review portion of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy license evaluation on October 31,” the agency told FLYING.