WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has given final approval to SpaceX for the next Starship launch, now scheduled for no earlier than next week.
The FAA announced May 22 that it approved the return to flight for Starship. The FAA updated the launch license for Starship May 15 that included changes such as an increased launch rate from its Starbase facility in South Texas, but said then it would withhold approval for the next launch until it either closed the mishap investigation into the previous launch in March or made a “return to flight” determination.
The FAA said it took the latter route in providing its final approval. “The FAA conducted a comprehensive safety review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap and determined that the company has satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight,” the FAA stated. It did not identify the causes of the mishap or actions SpaceX has taken to address them.
On the Flight 8 launch March 6, SpaceX said the Starship upper stage suffered an “energetic event” causing the loss of several Raptor engines and, with it, a loss of vehicle control. The vehicle reentered over the Caribbean. The failure appeared similar to what the prior launch, Flight 7, suffered in January.
The FAA’s approval for the upcoming Flight 9 was the same approach it used for Flight 8, concluding the launch did not pose a safety risk and thus allowing it to proceed even though the mishap investigation into the previous launch was not yet closed.
“With the Starship vehicle return to flight determination, Starship Flight 9 is authorized for launch,” the FAA stated. “The FAA finds SpaceX meets all of the rigorous safety, environmental and other licensing requirements.”
One change for Flight 9, as the FAA noted in its updated license determination last week, is an expansion of aircraft hazard areas, or AHAs, which are airspace closures intended to prevent any debris from a launch failure from hitting an aircraft. An environmental review concluded that the AHAs should be expanded as the failures on the previous two launches meant there was an increased probability of failure than previously estimated.
The FAA noted that the AHA for Flight 9 extends east from Starbase for about 1,600 nautical miles (2,960 kilometers) past the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. By comparison, the AHA for Flight 8 extended for 885 nautical miles (1,640 kilometers).
SpaceX’s plan to use a previously flown Super Heavy booster on the upcoming Flight 9 also led to the expanded AHAs. “The FAA is expanding the size of hazard areas both in the U.S. and other countries based on the updated flight safety analysis and because SpaceX intends to reuse a previously launched Super Heavy booster rocket for the first time,” it stated.
SpaceX has not announced an official launch date for Flight 9. However, temporary flight restrictions published by the FAA shortly after it announced it provided approval for the launch indicate SpaceX is working towards a launch as soon as May 27.
