SpaceX is targeting Monday for the first orbital launch of a fully-stacked Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, from its Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, after clearing its final regulatory hurdle Friday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued SpaceX a five-year Vehicle Operator License on Friday afternoon, the final hurdle in the private company’s pursuit of sending the massive vehicle into orbit.
SpaceX tweeted they’ll target a launch of the rocket as soon as Monday, April 17, with the 150-minute launch window opening at 7 a.m. CT.
No people or satellites will be aboard the rocket during the test flight, which will attempt to send Starship into orbit around the Earth before landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii.
SpaceX describes the shiny, stainless steel Starship as “a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.” Starship, SpaceX said, “is also capable of point-to-point transport on Earth, enabling travel to anywhere in the world in one hour or less.”
SpaceX founder Elon Musk envisions using Starships to send people to the moon and Mars. NASA has already signed up for a Starship to put astronauts on the lunar surface as early as 2025.
Anticipating Friday’s regulatory approval, SpaceX recently stacked Starship Prototype 24 on Super Heavy booster Prototype 7 in preparation for the upcoming launch. Together the fully-stacked vehicle stands at nearly 400 feet.
SpaceX has tested both Starship and the Super Heavy 33-engine rocket with separate test flights of each. The next launch will be the first orbital test of a fully-stacked rocket with Starship attached.
Engineers at SpaceX have also built what they describe as “the world’s tallest rocket launch and catch tower.” The tower is nearly 500 feet tall and is designed to perform multiple functions including assisting in stacking Starship on top of the rocket, launching the integrated vehicle and then catching the Super Heavy rocket booster upon its return to the launch site.
“For the first flight test, the team will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the Super Heavy booster,” SpaceX said, adding that both will have water landings with the Super Heavy rocket coming down in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship coming down in the Pacific Ocean.
The FAA said Friday that SpaceX has passed a comprehensive evaluation process and met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements.
“We carefully analyzed the public safety risks during every stage of the mission and required SpaceX to mitigate those risks,” the FAA added.
For the first time, the FAA will identify and reroute aircraft directly affected by the closed airspace during the launch window, allowing more aircraft to stay on their most optimal and efficient routes. The FAA said this process has previously only been used for launches from the Florida space coast.
THE ‘SPACEX EFFECT’
In November 2021, NBC 5 traveled to Boca Chica to see how the future of space travel was taking shape on the Texas Gulf Coast. Those reports can be seen below.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
