SpaceX Receives Approval for Test Flight of Starship Rocket
SpaceX has received final approval from federal regulators to conduct another test flight of its massive Starship rocket on Friday. This comes after the previous launch ended in an explosion just minutes after takeoff from South Texas in April.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the necessary license on Wednesday, stating that SpaceX has met all the safety, environmental, and other requirements for launching again. Elon Musk’s rocket company has confirmed that it is targeting Friday morning for the test flight.
Following the failure of the first launch, SpaceX has made numerous improvements to both the 400-foot rocket and the launch pad. The explosion over the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a large crater beneath the pad. Despite these setbacks, SpaceX still holds a $3 billion NASA contract to land astronauts on the lunar surface using the Starship spacecraft, with a target date of 2025.
The FAA recently completed its safety review of the upcoming Starship launch and has now concluded its environmental review as well. During the initial launch, no injuries were reported, but the pad suffered significant damage as the rocket’s 33 main engines ignited at liftoff.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that debris, including concrete chunks and steel sheets, were thrown thousands of feet from the pad, with a plume of pulverized concrete reaching several miles away. As a result, wildlife and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the FAA, alleging that the agency failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach.
The upcoming test flight is expected to last approximately 1 1/2 hours and will not achieve a full orbit of Earth. The spacecraft will travel eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans before ditching near Hawaii. It is important to note that no valuable cargo will be on board.
This article was made possible with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The Associated Press is solely responsible for its content.
