A new project status update from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveals SpaceX's Starship will have to wait a while longer to get off the ground.
SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy Launch Vehicle Program has been awaiting the finalization of the FAA's Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) in order to conduct its first orbital test flight. The draft of the PEA was first published for review on September 17th, 2021, and after multiple delays will now be finalized no sooner than May 31st, 2022.
To conduct Starship and Super Heavy launch operations, SpaceX had to apply for and obtain permits and licenses from the FAA to operate such a vehicle. In order to grant such permits and licenses, the FAA has to conduct a review of "public safety issues," "national security or foreign policy concerns," "insurance requirements for the launch operator," and "potential environmental impact."
The assessment has been delayed four times after initially being due to be completed by the end of 2021. The FAA says the delay is due to SpaceX having made "multiple changes to its application that require additional FAA analysis," and it is still working on reviewing about 18,000 comments on the application made during the public review and comment period from September 17th, 2021 through November 1st, 2021.
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