SpaceX orbital launch on hold; Starship waits for FAA decision

SpaceX founder and CEO tweeted last month that the company’s Starship-Super Heavy combination could be ready for its first orbital launch attempt from Boca Chica “if all goes well” and “pending regulatory approval.”

With 29 Raptor engines installed in the 230-foot-tall Super Heavy SN4 booster, successful static-fire engine tests conducted on the Starship SN20 prototype and substantial progress made on construction of SpaceX’s new orbital launch pad and launch tower at Boca Chica/Starbase, the rocket might be ready, though there’s no guarantee the Federal Aviation Administration is, plus it’s nearly mid-November.

The FAA hasn’t decided yet whether it will grant permission for an experimental orbital launch. In September the agency released the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment of the company’s proposed activities at Boca Chica. The FAA solicited public comments on the Draft PEA via two public hearings last month and comments submitted via mail and email. The comment period, which came to a close Nov. 1, genera ted significant feedback for and against the company’s plans.

The first orbital launch calls for the Super Heavy booster to separate from Starship a little over two minutes after launching from Boca Chica and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico some 20 miles offshore. Starship, powered by six Raptor engines and standing 165 feet tall , would make a “soft” powered landing in the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles north of Kauai, Hawaii, sinking inside the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility, according to the FAA.

Read more: https://myrgv.com/local-news/2021/11/12/spacex-orbital-launch-on-hold-starship-waits-for-faa-decision/