US regulator halts Elon Musk launching Starship, demands major changes

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently concluded its investigation into the environmental impacts of SpaceX's Starbase facility located on Texas's Gulf Coast.

The assessment, which has been released online, requests that SpaceX make more than 75 changes to its facility before the regulator grants approval for the company to launch rockets to the Moon and beyond. Notably, the conclusion from the FAA has put a temporary stop to SpaceX's launch of Starship, the company's new next-generation rocket poised to be the transportation method that will be used to put humans on Mars.

However, as SpaceNews notes, the assessment didn't specifically state that Starship, or any coming orbital launches, will have any environmental impact, but more so, the requests are aimed at making SpaceX take the necessary steps now to reduce any future environmental impact. Furthermore, the recent review by the FAA puts a cap on the number of launches SpaceX can conduct per year - five orbital launches and five suborbital launches.