SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, takes off on its third launch from the company’s Boca Chica launch pad in an uncrewed test flight near Brownsville, Texas, US, on March 14, 2024 .
Cheney Orr | Reuters
The Federal Aviation Administration may issue SpaceX’s next Starship license in time for a launch attempt on Sunday, according to CNBC.
SpaceX and its CEO, Elon Musk, have been highly critical of the FAA in recent weeks, urging the federal regulator to expedite a permit review for Starship’s fifth test flight. Just last week, the FAA said it did not expect to issue the permit before “the end of November.”
Despite the ongoing review, SpaceX issued statement on Monday saying the fifth Starship space flight “could launch as early as October 13, pending regulatory approval.” The company did not say whether it expected to receive its license until Sunday.
But a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday that SpaceX’s apparently aggressive goal is possible because the FAA’s review process has accelerated.
The regulator and partner agencies involved in the process conducted reviews faster than expected, the person told CNBC, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the final stages of completing the review for the FAA. The person, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the ongoing federal review, noted that it’s also possible that any hurdles this week could push back a Sunday attempt and push approval to later this month.
In an updated statement to CNBC on Tuesday, the FAA removed its pre-November estimate.
“In mid-August, SpaceX submitted new information about the proposed Starship/Super Heavy Flight 5 mission. The FAA continues to review this information. The FAA will make a licensing decision once SpaceX meets all licensing requirements,” the FAA said .
The Fish and Wildlife Service referred CNBC to the FAA in response to a request for comment.
On September 10, SpaceX issued a long blog post saying the FAA delayed Starship’s fifth launch due to “unnecessary environmental analysis,” arguing that the extensive review was “for irrational and outrageous reasons” that represent difficulties in “today’s regulatory environment” for companies seeking launch permits.
The post partly criticized reports that SpaceX violated environmental regulations by using Starship’s water deluge system in Texas without a permit. However, SpaceX eased fines enforced by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency regarding unauthorized water discharge.
Reuters reported for the first time that the FAA may approve a permit as soon as this month, but did not specify whether that could happen on Sunday.
An ambitious fifth launch
The sun sets behind the SpaceX Starship before its fourth flight test at Boca Chica Beach on June 5, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
SpaceX intends to further advance the development of its mammoth Starship rocket with its fifth flight. Looking to build on June’s progress fourth Starship test flight — which traveled halfway around the world for a deliberate drop in the Indian Ocean.
As part of SpaceX’s effort to make Starship fully reusable, the company plans to try to return and grab the rocket’s 232-foot-tall booster.
After launching and separating from the rocket’s upper Starship section, the Super Heavy booster is expected to fly back to the launch site and land between a pair of so-called “chopsticks” on the tower. SpaceX stressed that the fishing attempt requires “thousands” of criteria to be met or the booster would be diverted from its return orbit to launch off the coast into the Gulf of Mexico.
“We accept no compromises in ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right,” SpaceX said in a statement describing the flight.
The Sunday window opens at 8am. ET for the fifth Starship launch from the company’s facility near Brownsville, Texas.
Starship is both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. Fully stacked on the Super Heavy booster, the Starship is 397 feet tall and about 30 feet in diameter.
The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program.