SpaceX’s subsequent Starship megarocket now has a license to fly.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday (Dec. 17) issued a launch license for SpaceX’s upcoming Starship Flight 7 take a look at flight, clearing the way in which for the corporate’s subsequent launch of the world’s largest rocket from South Texas. The launch license comes on the heels of a number of Starship engine assessments by SpaceX to examine the flight readiness of its seventh Ship spacecraft and Tremendous Heavy rocket booster.
“The FAA continues to extend efficiencies in our licensing willpower actions to fulfill the wants of the industrial area transportation business,” Kelvin B. Coleman, FAA Affiliate Administrator for Business Area Transportation, mentioned in an announcement. “This license modification that we’re issuing is effectively forward of the Starship Flight 7 launch date and is one other instance of the FAA’s dedication to allow protected area transportation.”
SpaceX has not but set a goal date for its Flight 7 Starship launch take a look at from its Starbase facility close to Boca Chica Seashore, however with about two weeks remaining within the yr, a possible flight in early or mid-January 2025 could be the probably. Officers with Cameron County, Texas — a area that features Starbase — haven’t issued any street closures for the rest of December. Such street closure notices usually accompany imminent Starship launch assessments by SpaceX.
As its identify suggests, Flight 7 might be SpaceX’s seventh main take a look at launch of its Starship megarocket. The corporate has carried out a collection of brief “static-fire” engine assessments with the Starship upper-stage automobile and the Tremendous Heavy booster, however they haven’t but been stacked atop each other for flight.
Associated: What’s subsequent for SpaceX’s Starship after its profitable sixth take a look at flight?
When totally assembled, the six-engine Starship spacecraft and 33-engine Tremendous Heavy booster stand practically 400 ft (122 meters), making it the world’s tallest and strongest rocket. SpaceX efficiently caught its Flight 5 Tremendous Heavy booster with the enormous steel “chopsticks” on the Starbase launch pad this previous October.
Through the Flight 6 take a look at flight in November, SpaceX skipped the booster catch as a consequence of a sensor challenge however efficiently soft-landed its Starship automobile within the Indian Ocean, capturing gorgeous video of the splashdown. The Starship Flight 7 take a look at is predicted to recreate that Ship touchdown within the ocean whereas additionally making one other try at catching the Tremendous Heavy booster.
“The Flight 7 mission profile entails launch of the mixed Starship/Tremendous Heavy automobile from Boca Chica, Texas, a return to the launch web site of the Tremendous Heavy booster rocket for a catch try by the launch tower, and a water touchdown of the Starship automobile within the Indian Ocean west of Australia,” FAA officers wrote within the license replace.
SpaceX has designed Starship and Tremendous Heavy to function a totally reusable heavy-lift system for launching huge payloads into orbit or on journeys to the moon, Mars or past. The corporate has launched six Starship take a look at flights since April 2023.
NASA has picked the Starship automobile to land its Artemis 3 astronauts on the moon in 2027, and SpaceX has already bought at the very least two flights on Starship to non-public prospects, together with American billionaire Jared Isaacman. Isaacman booked the primary crewed flight on a Starship spacecraft as a part of his Polaris Program of three SpaceX flights, the primary of which launched in September of this yr and included the world’s first personal spacewalk.
Isaacman additionally bankrolled SpaceX’s 2021 Inspiration4 personal spaceflight and has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to function NASA Administrator if confirmed subsequent yr.
SpaceX hopes to scale up its Starship launch take a look at marketing campaign in 2025, with as much as 24 take a look at flights. The corporate has mentioned it will take at the very least eight Starship launches (and perhaps extra) to gasoline a single Ship automobile to succeed in the moon, and new in-space refueling expertise might be wanted.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk first unveiled the idea for what would develop into Starship in 2016. Earlier this yr, Musk mentioned SpaceX is hoping to launch its first Starship to Mars in 2026.
