Tag: FAA
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SpaceX set a launch turnaround record with back-to-back, coast-to-coast Falcon 9 launches
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX Update 5:06 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the mission and landed B1081 on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ Following its second return to flight mission in as many months with a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX proceeded to set a…
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Although it’s not final, SpaceX just got good news from the FAA on Starbase
After SpaceX decided to launch orbital missions of its Starship rocket from Texas about five years ago, the company had to undergo a federal environmental review of the site to ensure it was safe to do so. As a part of this multi-year process, the Federal Aviation Administration completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment in…
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Although it’s not final, SpaceX just got good news from the FAA on Starbase
After SpaceX decided to launch orbital missions of its Starship rocket from Texas about five years ago, the company had to undergo a federal environmental review of the site to ensure it was safe to do so. As a part of this multi-year process, the Federal Aviation Administration completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment in…
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FAA, NASA seek public input on SpaceX Starship launches at the Kennedy Space Center
The Ship 29 upper stage of the fully integrated Starship rocket as seen before its fourth flight test on June 6, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to gather public input on SpaceX Starship launch operations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The request for comments comes about a month after…
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News from the Press Site: New SpaceX spacesuits and China’s Chang’e 6 reaches orbit around the Moon
In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Jeff Foust, senior writer at Space News, and Bill Harwood, space consultant for CBS News. The panel discusses the upcoming valve work being done to ready ULA’s Atlas V rocket for the Starliner Crew Flight Test, China’s Chang’e…
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SpaceX seeks a waiver to launch Starship “at least” nine times this year
As SpaceX nears its first Starship launch of 2024—possibly as soon as within three weeks—from its Starbase facility in South Texas, the company is pressing regulators to increase its cadence of flights. During a press availability this week, the administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration, Kelvin Coleman, said the agency is…
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SpaceX Secures Regulatory Nod for Second Starship/Super Heavy Launch
SpaceX has received the green light from regulatory authorities to proceed with its second integrated Starship/Super Heavy launch, scheduled for the morning of November 17. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed on November 15 that it had issued an updated launch license, citing SpaceX’s compliance with safety, environmental, policy, and financial responsibility requirements. The key…
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SpaceX receives launch license for second integrated flight test of Starship
SpaceX has received the modified license No. VOL 23-129 Rev. 1, which will allow them to fly its Starship-Super Heavy vehicle for the second time. This came shortly after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) confirmed the completion of their investigation into the new deluge system at the orbital launch site in Starbase. FWS…
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FAA concludes SpaceX Starship safety review, continues environmental review
SpaceX’s Starship rocket stands fully stacked near the shoreline of Texas at its Starbase facility on Oct. 20, 2023. On Oct. 31, the FAA said it concluded its safety review ahead of its second test flight. Image: SpaceX SpaceX’s highly anticipated second test flight of its Starship super heavy lift rocket is one step closer…
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Varda looks to Australia after delays in obtaining US reentry approval
Varda Space Industries says it has reached an agreement with a private range operator in Australia for spacecraft landings as early as next year after the US government declined to grant approval for the reentry of Varda’s first experimental mission carrying pharmaceuticals manufactured in orbit. After years of applications, reviews, and discussion, the Federal Aviation…